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DUKE 
UNIVERSITY 


DIVINITY SCHOOL 
LIBRARY 

















THE BIBLE HAND-BOOK 





~HE BIBLE HAND-BOOK 
fen INERODUCTION TO THs 
erUDY OF SACRED SCRIPTURE 


BY THE LATE 


JOSEPH ANGUS, M:Ay D:D: 
- o 


A NEW EDITION, THOROUGHLY REVISED 
AND IN PART RE-WRITTEN 


BY 


SAMUEL G, GREEN, D:D: 


AUTHOR OF ‘HANDBOOK TO THE GRAMMAR OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT 
‘HANDBOOK OF CHURCH HISTORY,’ ETC. ETC. 


FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 
NEW YORK, CHICAGO, TORONTO 


4T6b7Y 


The Editor of the present Volume desires to acknowledge 
much valuable assistance received in its preparation; 
especially from Prof. S. W. Green, M.A., Regent's Park 
College, University of London, and the late Rev. W. H. 
Beckett, of Chelmsford. 


A 
PREFACE ; 


ORE than a half-century has passed since the pub- 

lication, m 1853, of Dr. Angus’s Bible Handbook. 

The discoveries and research of the intervening years have 

furthered our knowledge of the Bible in a degree perhaps 

unequalled by any previous period, and the results have 

appeared in a wealth of literature accessible to the English 
student. 

For some years before his death in 1902 it had been 
the intention of Dr. Angus himself to undertake a new 
edition of his work, a desire accentuated by his own share 
in the Revised Version of the New Testament issued in 
1881. That the task has fallen into other hands must 
inevitably mean loss, especially in unity of treatment. 
But it is believed that the Handbook still holds unchal- 
lenged the place it has made for itself among aids to 
the interpretation of the Scriptures, by the bold compre- 
hensiveness of its plan, carried out with rare combination 
of scholarship and profound reverence for the Bible as 
the inspired and authoritative Word of God. 

In this reissue the original plan has been retained, 
with some rearrangement, substantially unaltered. The 
matter of the book however has been freely dealt with. 
While. large portions most characteristic of the author’s 


LSob7 


vi PREFACE 


standpoint and purpose have been kept, with but slight 
revision, much else has been rewritten or added in view 
of later scholarship, and much omitted under necessities of 
space. The book is, therefore, a combination of old and 
new, and here and there the seams may possibly be 
apparent. Yet it is hoped that even students of the old 
Handbook will welcome the new, and that after more 
than fifty years of usefulness it may, in spite of the in- 
evitable limitations under which this revision has been 
conducted, fulfil still more amply the aim stated in the 
original Preface, ‘to teach men to understand and appre- 
ciate Tue Bree.’ . 


CONTENTS 


PART I 
THE BIBLE AS A BOOK 


Chapter I . 


Introductory. J : : : j : a RB: 


§§ 1-3 Claims of the Bible; Spirit in which to study it. 
4-8 Its TirtEs: Bible, Scriptures, Testaments, Old Testament, 
Law and Prophets. 9 The Canon of Scripture. 10 Extra- 
Canonical Books: the Old Testament Apocrypha. 


Chapter II 


The Old Testament: Language, Canon, Trans- 
mission, Versions . 2 ; ; , ERTS 6 
§§ 11 External features. 12-18 Hresprew: the Language 


of Canaan. Aramaic admixture. Cognates: Arabic, Ethiopic. 
19 Importance of Cognate Languages. 20 History of the 


Hebrew. 21, 22 History of the O_p Testament Canon, 
General Considerations. 23, 24 The Canon in Christian 
and pre-Christian times. 25, 26 Transmission of the 
Text ; Fidelity in copying. 27 The pre-Massoretic Text. 


28-32 Versions of the Old Testament : The Targums ; Samaritan 
Pentateuch ; Septuagint, and other Greek Versions (Origen’s 
Hexapla); Old Latin and Jerome’s Vulgate ; Syriac (the Peshitta), 
Ethiopic, Coptic, Gothic, Armenian, &e. 33 PRESERVATION 
of the Original Text. 


Chapter III 
The New Testament : : f i : . 36 


§§ 34 General View. 35-37 Gradual Formation of the 
Canon; the Gosrers; the Episties of Paul; the REMAINING 
Books. 88 Early CarTaLoGues, 39,40 Laneuace of the 


viii CONTENTS 


PAGE 

New Testament: Hellenistic Greek; a mixture of Dialects. 
41, 42 Manusorrets: Uncial and Cursive. 42 Threefold 
Division of the New Testament. 43, 44. Enumeration of 
MSS. : Uncial, Cursive. 45 Lectionaries. 46, 47 ANcIENT 
Versions: Syriac, Armenian, Coptic; Old Latin, Vulgate. 
48,49 Early Quorarions: Ecclesiastical Witnesses. 50-54 
Epitions of the Text: Textus Receptus ; Critical Editions ; Pleas 
for the Traditional Text ; Editions for the General Reader. 


Chapter IV 
On the Text of the Old and New Testaments . 66 


§§ 55 Twofold Method of Criticism. 56 Exrernat Testrmony 
to the Text. 57-59 Textual Variations: Accidental Errors ; 
Intentional Changes; the Text not materially affected. 60-64 
PRINCIPLES AND Rutes or Critictsm : External Evidence ; Internal 
Evidence ; Application of Critical Canons (to 1 Jn 57 and other 
passages), 


Chapter V 
The Credentials and Claims of the Bible . . 


. 


§§ 65, 66 The Claims of THE ScrIPTURES THEMSELVES; the 
Mission of our Lord, of the Apostles, of Paul; the Apostolic 
Writings generally ; Testimony of the New Testament to the 
Old. 67 Genuineness involves Authenticity. 68 Evripencr 
Classified ; Syllabus. 69-71 External Evidence : I. Mrracrr 
(Exploded Objections); the Evangelic Testimony; Meaning of 
Miracles. 72, 73 II. Proruecy: its Nature and Fulfilment. 
74-78 Internal Evidence : Moraurry of the Bible; Comparison 
with human ethical systems ; the CHaRAcTER OF ouR LoRD ; oF 
Curistrans; the Harmonres oF REVELATION. 79 SprrrrvaL 
Evidence : Experimental. 80, 81 Summary of the Evidence: 
universally accessible ; Hindrances to its reception. 


Chapter VI 


Inspiration and Revelation . : . ‘ . 6 


§§ 82 The Bible as Inspired: the Drvive Worp. 83, 84 
Method ef Ixsrimarion ; Theory of the Reformers. 85 Divine 
and Human Elementsin Scripture. 86 Difficulties. 87 The 
Bible as Reve.ation. 88 Harmony between Natural and 
Revealed Religion. 89,90 Meaning of Revelation ; Written 
Revelation. 91-95 Method of Revelation : its matter Religious 
Truth ; its course gradual and progressive; Relation of Prophecy 


* 


CONTENTS ix 


PAGE 
to Practice ; Unity of Revelation ; manifest in Diversity. 96 
Essential things in Revelation. 97-99 Its unsystematic 
character ; fitting it for every country and age ; Character above 
System. 100, 101 Revelation authoritative; the Seat of 
Authority in religion. 


Chapter VII 


The Bible as Translated . ; ‘ - < . 147 


§§ 102 Latin Versions. 103, 104 The German Bible 
and Versions founded thereon. 105 Frencu translations. 
106 Versions in other Europran LanevacEs. 107 Versions 
by Mission aRIEs. 108 The EneiisH Bisre. 109 Early 
Versions. 110 The Wyctir Bible. 111 TinpDA.e’s Version 
and others. 112 The AvurHorizeED Version. 113 Proposals 
for Revision. 114 The Revisep VERSION. 115 English 
Translations compared with the Original; Different classes of 
Emenpation illustrated. 116 Archaic and obsolete words and 
phrases, with List. 117-119 SprrctaL FEATURES of the English 
Versions: (1) the use of italics, (2) the Margin, (3) Summaries of 
Chapters (in A. V.) ; Titles of the Psalms (from Heb.) ; Subscrip- 
tions to the Epistles; Chapters, Verses, and Paragraphs. 


Chapter VIII ~ 


On the Interpretation of Scripture. 





I. 3 . 176 


§§ 120, 121 Importance of the Study ; Mental and spiritual 
prerequisites. 122-130 Rouzzs oF INTERPRETATION : (1) Inter- 
pret grammatically, (2) according to the context, (3) according 
to the scope or design of the book, (4) by comparison of Scrip- 
ture with Scripture. 131-133 Helps from the OrieraL 
Scriptures ; Etymology ; Grammatical peculiarities. 134-138 
Interpretation of Figurative LanevaGeE; Classification of Figures ; 
Definitions ; Laws of Symbolic Language. 139-141 Allegory, 
Type, and Parable. 142-151 PRopHEcY anp 17s INTERPRETA- 
tion ; Succession of Prophets in Israel ; Nature of the Prophetic 
Gift; History, Type, Prediction ; Specialities of Prophetic Lan- 
guage; Principle of Interpreting Prophecy ; New Testament 
Applications ; Various Interpretations of Expositors. 152-157 
Quorations of the Old Testament in the New ; Sources of Quota- 
tions; LXX and Hebrew; Bearings of Quotations upon Doctrine ; 
Old Testament FORESHADOWINGS OF THEGOSPEL. 158-166 Scrip- 
ture DrrricutTizs: to be expected; Difficult phrases, passages, 
allusions; Apparent discrepancies; Alleged contradictions to 
Secular History; Summary of Difficulties in the Revelation 
itself, and in Doctrine ; how to be settled. 


x CONTENTS 


Chapter IX 
PAGE 


On the Interpretation of Scripture,—II. On the 
Use of External Helps . ; : ; . 276 


§§ 167-177 GrocrarHy: Bible Lands; Palestine; Names, 
Boundaries, Divisions; Jerusalem; the Highland region; the 
Jordan Valley ; Transjordanie Country ; Lyuaprrants or CANAAN, 
earlier and later ; Cirmare ; Applications of Geographical Facts ; 
Modern local names (Arabic). 178-182 Hisrory: (1) Eeypr, 
the Hyksos ; the Oppression; the Exodus ; Subsequent relations 
with Egypt; Palestine between great empires. 183 (2) Moas, 
relations with Israel. 184 (3) Puentcra, relations with 
Israel. 185 (4) Syrta and Hamatu: Petty northern states. 
186 (5) The Hrrirres, a great forgotten empire. 187-190 (6) 
Assyria. Kings mentioned in Old Testament: Tiglath-pileser, 


Sargon, Sennacherib. 191, 192 (7) Basyton: Second Baby- 
lonian Empire; Narrative in Daniel. 193 New Testament and 
Contemporary History. 194 Historical illustrations of Bible 
passages ; Light from heathen religions. 195-200 CHronoLocy: 
Old Testament period, in six divisions. 201 Chronological 
Eras of different nations. 202 New Testament Chronology. 
203 Incidental Lessons of Chronology. 204, 205 Natura. 


History : the Vegetable World ; the Animal Kingdom. 206- 
210 Manners anp Customs: Habitations; Cities and Towns; 
Dress; Food; Taxation and Tribute. 211-214 Mopes or 
Reckoninc: Linear Measure; Measures of Capacity ; Weights 
and Coins; Lessons of the Tables. 215-217 Reckoning of 
Time: the Day; the Year; the Jewish Calendar (Table); the 
Seasons as a Note of Time. 218 MisceLLANgeous Customs, 


Chapter X 


On the Study of the Scriptures in Relation to 
Doctrine and to Life. “ 2 4 . 358 


§§ 219 Great Purposes of Bible Study. 220-223 System in 
DocrrinE: Method of Investigation ; Relative Importance of 
Truths; Rules and their Application. 224-228 The Guipance 
oF Lire: Doctrine and Practice ; Moral and Positive Precepts ; 
ExaMPLEe a Guide to Conduct ; Promises and their Application ; 
Conditions of Scripture Promises. 


CONTENTS xi 


PART Il 
THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 


Chapter XI 


Introductory. : j f ‘ : P . 381 


§§ 229 Recapitulation. 230 The TWo PARTS OF SCRIPTURE. 
231 Use of the respective Testaments. 232 Summary of the 
whole. 233 True Place of the Otp Testament. 234 Classi- 
fication of Old Testament Books. 


Chapter XII 


The Pentateuch: Its Genuineness, Unity, and 
Authenticity . ? , : : : 2 307 


§§ 235 The Five Books. 236 GrENUINENEsS: Difficulties at 
the Outset ; how met. 237 Moses the author. 238-240 
Unity: the Mosaic Origin; Critical Theories; the Proposed 
Reconstruction criticized. 241 AuTuenticity: Truth of the 
record. 242-245 The Separate Books : Grnusts, Divisions, and 
New Testament references. 246, 247 Exopus, and New Testa- 
ment references. 248, 249 Leviticus, and New Testament 
references, 250, 251 Numpers, and New Testament references. 
252, 253 Deuteronomy: its variations from preceding books, and 
New Testament references. 254 Design of the Law : Hypo- 
thetical and actual methods of Revelation, 255, 256 TueEo- 
cracy : the Sanctuary and Priesthood. 257, 258 SacriFICEs : 
their Material, Method, Varieties, and Significance. 259 
Festivats: their Threefold significance; Passover, Pentecost, 
Tabernacles. Fasts: the Day of Atonement. The Sassatic 
Year; the Jupiter. Objects of the Festivals. 


Chapter XIII 


Historical Books: From the Entrance into Canaan 
to the Death of Solomon . : - -. 434 


§§ 260-263 Historical Books enumerated: their Inspiration. 
Characteristics of Bible History. Drvistons of the History. 
264-267 Book of Joshua: his name and career ; Main divisions 
of the Book; Fulfilment of the Divine Purposes; New Testa- 
ment references. 268-270 Book of Jupers: Authorship; 
Outline; New Testament references. 271-273 Book of Rutu: 
its design; Outline and lessons; New Testament reference 


Xi CONTENTS 


PAGE 

274-284 Books of Samuei: General View ; Book I, chs. 1-8, Eli 
and Samuel; Book I, chs. 9-31, Designation of Saul as King; 
Saul and David; Book II, David king in Jerusalem; his 
thanksgiving and last words; References in the Psalms and in 
the New Testament; Revival of the Propueric Sprarr in Samuel 
and David. 285-287 Books of Kixes: General View ; Com- 
parison with Chronicles; Theocratic character of the History. 
288 Death of David and Accession of Solomon. 289-292 
Books of Curonicirs: General View ; Comparison with Samuel 
and Kings; Books I-II. 9, Outline; Note on the Reigns of David 
and Solomon, . 


Chapter XIV 


Historical and Prophetical Books: From the Death 
of Solomon to the Babylonian Captivity . 46 


§§ 293 Division of the Kingdom. 294, 295 The NorrHEern 
Kinepom : its successive dynasties and history ; Alliance with 
heathen powers : Subjugation by Assyria (origin of Samaritans). - 

* 296-298 Kingdom of Jupau: Outlines; External Dangers, 
specially from Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon; the Captivity. 
299, 300 References to the History in the Psalms, and to Kings 
and Chronicles in New Testament. 301-304 Propuets of 
this Period ; Chart of the Prophets. 302 Revival of the 
Prophetic spirit. 303 General Lessons of Prophecy. 304 
Prophets in two groups; the Assyrian period. 305-307 The 
Book of Jonan: an Israelite prophet; Outline and spiritual 
lessons. 308-310 The Book of Amos: Sent from Judah to 


Israel ; Outline ; New Testament references. 311 The Book 
of Hosea: a prophet of Israel. 312-314 Personal history of 
Hosea ; its application ; New Testament references. 315-317 


Book of Jori: a prophet in Jerusalem; Outline; Joel and 
Amos ; New Testament references. 318-320 Book of Isatan : 
his Personal History ; the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel in his 
time; his earlier prophecies. 321-325 Later prophecies ; 
their Date and Authorship; the ‘Servant of Jehovah’; the 
Evangelical Prophet; New Testament quotations. 326-328 
Book of Micau : his personality and prophecies ; New Testament 
quotations. 329-331 Book of Nanum: his personal history and 
prophecies ; New Testament reference. Prophets of the Chaldean 
period. 332 Book of ZerHAnran. 333, 334 His prophecies, 
and New Testament references. 335-337 Book of HaBpakkux: 
his times and prophecies; New Testament references. 338,339 
Book of Jeremran: his personal history and prophetie econ- 
temporaries. 340, 341 Arrangement of Jeremiah’s discourses ; 
New Testament quotations and references. 342 Book of 
LAMENTATIONS. 343 Book of EzrxreL: his position and 
history. 844, 345 His prophecies and New Testament 
references. 346, 347 Book of OBaviaH : his prophecies, 


CONTENTS xiii 


Chapter XV ye 


Historical and Prophetical Books: From _ the 
Babylonian Captivity to the Close of the 
Old Testament Canon . ; : : . 528 


§§ 348, 349 The Captivity and its Duration. 350 Events 
in Judea. 351 Life in Babylonia. 352 Literature of the 
Period. 353, 354 Book of DanieL: his personal history, and 
Outline of the Book. 355 Parallels to Daniel in the Apoca- 
lypse. 356 The Restoration, according to the decree of Cyrus, 
357-360 Book of Ezra: Contents; Connexion with prophecy ; 
Traditions respecting Ezra ; the ‘ Great Synagogue.’ 361, 362 
Book of Nrgrmran: Authorship and Contents. 363, 364 Book 
of EstHer: Jews in foreign lands; an episode in the history ; 
Lessons ; the Feast of Purim. 365-367 Book of Haeear: its 
Period and Contents; New Testament reference. 368, 369 
Book of ZecHartaH: its Contents; Divisions of the Book; 
Theories; New Testament references. 370-872 Book of 
Maracut: Name and ministry of the prophet ; Contents; New 
Testament references. Contents of the Prophetical Books in 
chronological order: TaBLE, pp. 556, 557- 


Chapter XVI 


Poetical Books and «‘ Wisdom-Literature’ . . 558 


§§ 373-375 Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry; Parallelism 
and its Varieties, 376-381 Book of Jos: its Title, Subject, 
Age, Contents; Comparison with other Old Testament Books ; 
References in New Testament. 382-385 Book of Psaums ; Title ; 
Arrangement (the Five Books) ; Authorship, and Value. 386- 
389 Titles of the Psalms ; their Historical Circumstances ; their 


Character and Contents ; the later Psalms. 390-392 Classi- 
fication and approximate chronological arrangement; New 
Testament quotations and references. 393, 394 Wisdom- 


Literature of the Old Testament; Solomon and his followers. 
395-397 Book of Provergs: Contents ; Outline; their applica- 
tion illustrated. 398, 399 Book of Eccuestastxs: Title, Age, 
Authorship, and Design. 400-403 The Sone or Sones 
(Canticles): Authorship and Canonicity; Personages of the 
poem ; Scenes and dialogue; Different interpretations (the 
Shepherd-Lover, Wedding-songs) ; Allegorical use of the poem. 


Chapter XVII 


Jewish History from Malachi to John the Baptist 5097 


§§ 404 The Successive Periods. 405 The Persian Rule: 
its duration and character. 406 Rise of Samaritan worship. 


xiv CONTENTS 


PAGE 

407 Persia and Egypt. 408 Alexander and his successors. 
409 Egyptian Rule; the Ptolemies. 410 Syrian Rule; 
Antiochus Epiphanes. 411, 412 The Maccabwan uprising ; 
Reconsecration of the Temple. 413 The Jews in Egypt. 
414 Palestine under Maccabeean rule; the Brothers. 415 
Hyrecanus I; Line of Prresr-K1nes. 416 Intervention of 
Rome. 417 Genealogical Table of Priest-Kings; the High- 
Priests. 418 Supremacy of Rome; Herod the Great. 419 
Governors of Judea; Table of the Herodian Family. 420 
Moral and Religious History ; Adhesion to Mosaism. 421 The 
Sepruacint. 422 Apocryphal Books. 423-425 Jewish Sects: 
Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes. 426-428 Tradition : the Talmud, 
Massora, Kabbalah. 429 TheScribes. 430 Synagogues, 431 
The Sanhedrin. 432 Zealots, Herodians, Proselytes. 433 
The Samaritans: their Pentateuch and Worship. 


Chapter XVIII 


The New Testament: the Gospels nae . 627 


§§ 434, 435 Meaning of ‘Gospel’; The Four Gospels. 486- 
439 The Synoptic Problem ; Sources of the first three Gospels ; 
Use of Mark and ‘Logia’ by Matthew and Luke; Luke’s 
Prologue. 440 Table of Early Witnesses to the Gospels, 
441-446 Gospel according to Marx: its Author; his personal 
history ; Date and Integrity of the Gospel (the last twelve 
verses); Contents and Characteristics. 447-449 Gospel 
according to Matrnew : Author ; Genuineness ; Integrity ; Date ; 
Contents; Characteristics. 450-452 Gospel aecording to 
Luxe: Author; Genuineness; Integrity; Date; Contents; 
Characteristics. 453 Details peculiar to Luke. 454-456 
Gospel according to Joun: his personality ; Relationship to 
Jesus; his place in the Apostolic history. 457-459 Genuine- 
ness of this Gospel; External testimony ; Internal evidence ; 
Objections and Difficulties considered. 460-462 Integrity of 
this Gospel; Date; Summary of contents. 463 Details 
peculiar to John (Note on works advocating the Genuineness 
and Authority of the Fourth Gospel). 464,465 Tables of 
Parables and Miracles recorded in the several Gospels, 


Chapter XIX 
The Acts of the Apostles , : ‘ ; . 667 


§§ 466 Title and Plan of the Book ; its relation to the Gospels. 
467-470 Author, Date, Historical Value. 471 Objections 
and Difficulties considered. 472, 473 Its Contents and 
Chronology. 


CONTENTS XV 


Chapter XX ; 


The Epistles. A ; ; : : : . 679 


§§ 475 Purpose of the Epistles, and rules for studying them. 
476 Reception of the Epistles in the Church (Table). 477- 
479 1 THessaLontans: Thessalonica ; Paul’s labours there ; Con- 
tents of the Epistle: Key-words and notableexpressions. 480- 
482 2 TuHeEssaLonIans: Object of the Epistle; its contents 
and special teachings. 483-485 1 CorrnrHrans: Corinth ; its 
Position and Character; the Church there founded ; Time and 
place of writing the Epistle ; Special questions considered ; Place 


of the Epistle in the series. 486-488 2 CorRINTHIANS : Occa- 
sion of the Epistle; Contents and general lessons ; Key-words 
and peculiar expressions. 489-492 Gatatrans: Position and 


Extent of the Province ; Occasion and tenor of the Epistle ; Con- 
tents; Key-words and peculiar expressions. 493-496 Romans: 
Jewish, Gentile, and Christian Communities in Rome; Date of the 
Epistle; Contents (detailed analysis) ; Key-wordsand expressions. 
497-499 The Prison Epistles: ‘Epuxsrans’; to whom addressed; 
Character and contents of the Epistle ; Key-words and charac- 
teristic expressions. 500-503 Conxossrans: the city of Colosse ; 
Place and time of writing the Epistle (comparison with ‘ Ephe- 
sians’) ; Contents ; Key-words and phrases. 504, 505 Puite- 
MON: a private letter; subject, contents, and characteristics ; 
Key-words and phrases. 506-509 Puuitiprians: Introduction 
of the Gospel to Europe ; Place and time of writing ; Character 
of the Church at Philippi; Contents of the Epistle ; Key-words 
and phrases. 510-512 The three Pastoral Epistles : their 
characteristics. 1 Timorny: Training and character of 
Timothy ; Date of the Epistle. 513, 514 Its purpose and con- 
tents ; Views of the Christian Ministry ; Key-words and memor- 
able sayings. 515-518 Tirus: Notices of his life ; the Gospel 
in Crete; Contents of the Epistle; Key-words and special phrases. 
519-521 2 Timorny: When and where written ; its purpose and 
contents; Key-wordsandspecialallusions. 522,523 Heprews: 
occasion and object of the Epistle ; Time and place of writing. 
524 Authorship of the Epistle; Various views. 525 To whom 
addressed. 526, 527 Outline; Characteristic words and special 
passages. 528 The Seven Catholic Epistles. 529-531 James: 
writer of the Epistle ; Contents ; Key-words and unusual expres- 


sions. 532-535 1 Peter: the writer’s history (his alleged 
residence in Rome) ; Destination, character, and contents of the 
Epistle ; Leading ideas and peculiar expressions. 536- 


538 2 Peter: Destination and purpose of the Epistle ; Question 
of its authenticity ; Special words and phrases. 539-541 JupE: 
his personality; Purport, contents, and date of the Epistle; 
Peculiar expressions and allusions. 542-544 1 Joun: Char- 
acter and destination of the Epistle ; Errors denounced ; Truths 
enforced ; Leading words and phrases. 545, 546 2 Joun: 
Letter to a Christian lady; its main topics and language. 


xvi CONTENTS 


PAGE 
547, 548 3 Jonn: a Letter to one Gaius; Characteristic words 
(Insight into the character of the Church at the close of first 
century). 


Chapter XXI 


The Revelation of John . ; : 4 . 758 

§§ 549 Place and date of writing (the word Apocatypsz). 
550 Character of the Book. 551, 552 Contents, in two main 
divisions ; Sevenfold arrangement. 553 Various Interpreta- 
tions of the Visions; the ‘ Preeterist,’ ‘Historical’ or ‘Continuous,’ 
‘Futurist,’ and ‘ Ideal.’ 554 Distinct and Certain Prophecies ; 
‘Babylon’ and the ‘ Heavenly Jerusalem.’ 555 Peculiar words 
and phrases in the Apocalypse ; Conclusion. 


APPENDICES 


Apprenpix I. CHRonotoey of the Bible, with Contemporary 
Annals ; Old Testament History ; Interval between the Old and 
New Testaments ; New Testament History : Fe 7 - 772 


Appenprx II. Natura Hisrory of the Bible: the Animal and 
Vegetable Kingdoms ; Minerals p e ; A > 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX - 0. oh 


PART I 


THE BIBLE AS A BOOK 


Its Characteristics, Literary History, and 
Interpretation 


“\ 


‘IT use the Scriptures not as an arsenal to be resorted to only for 
arms and weapons... but as a matchless temple, where I delight to 
contemplate the beauty, the symmetry, and the magnificence of the 
structure ; and to increase my awe and excite my devotion to the Deity 
there preached and adored.’—Boy1e: On the Style of Scripture, 3rd obj. 8. 


‘ Scarcely can we fix our eyes upon a single passage in this wonderful 
book which has not afforded comfort or instruction to thousands, and 
been met with tears of penitential sorrow or grateful joy drawn from 
eyes that will weep no more.’—Payson : The Bible above all Price, 

‘This lamp, from off the everlasting throne, 

Mercy took down, and in the night of time 

Stood, casting on the dark her gracious bow, 

And evermore beseeching men with tears 

And earnest sighs, to hear, believe, and live.—Pottok 


The Bible aw a Vook 


CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTORY 


1. The Claims of the Bible.—Even as a literary com- 
position, the sacred Scriptures form the most remarkable 
book the world has ever seen. They are of high antiquity. 
They contain a record of events of the deepest interest. 
The history of their influence is the history of civilization. 
The wisest and best-of mankind have borne witness to their 
power as an instrument of enlightenment and of holiness ; 
and having been prepared by men who ‘spake from God, 
being moved by the Holy Ghost ?,’ to reveal ‘the only true 
God and Him Whom He did send, even Jesus Christ,’ they 
have on this ground the strongest claims upon our attentive 
and reverential regard. 

The use of a handbook of Scripture requires one or two 
cautions, which both writer and readers need to keep before 
them. 


2. First, we are not to contemplate this glorious fabric 
of Divine truth as spectators only. It is not our business 
to stand before Scripture and admire it: but to stand 
within, that we may believe and obey it. In the way of 
inward communion and obedience only shall we see the 
beauty of its treasures. It yields them to none but the 
loving and the humble. We must enter and unite ourselves 
with that which we would know, before we can know it 
more than in name°. 

=a Pet 177 R. V. bY yn 57° R. V. 2 Pra Ines 
B2 


4 INTRODUCTORY 


3. Secondly, the study of a help to Seripture must not 
be confounded with the study of Scripture itself. Such helps 
may teach us to look at truth so as to see its position and 
proportions, but it is the entrance of truth alone which gives 
light. The road we are about to travel may prove attractive 
and pleasing, but its great attraction is its end. It leads 
to the ‘wells of salvation.’ To suppose that the journey, 
or the sight of the living water—perhaps, even of the place 
whence it springs—will quench our thirst, is to betray 
most mournful self-deceit or the profoundest ignorance. 
Our aim—‘the sabbath and port of our labours’—is to 
make more clear and impressive the Book of God, ‘the 
god of books,’ as it has been called, the Bible itself. 


4. Titles.—The names by which this volume is desig- 
nated are Tur Briere or Tue Scriptures: it is divided into 
Tue Oxtp Testament and Ture New Testament, while the 
Old Testament or parts of it are referred to in the New 
as Tur Law or THe Law AnD THE PROPHETS. 


5. Bible.—The term Brste, book, is one which affirms 
two things, unity and pre-eminence. We use it as a singu- 
lar, ‘Book’ not ‘Books,’ and without any distinguishing 
adjective. The Bible is one book, and in a sense is the 
only book. The appropriateness of such a title can hardly 
be questioned: this conception of oneness through all its 
parts, of unity amid diversity, has been endorsed by the 
Christian consciousness and has had far-reaching influence. 

It is curious that this title should have been due in part to a mistake. 
‘Bible’ is the English form of the name given to the Latin Scriptures, 
Biblia. This also is a singular, but, in turn, it is the Latin form of the 
Greek word #:8dia, which is not singular, but the plural of B:BAlov, 
book, a diminutive of BiBAos, a name given to the outer coat of the 
papyrus reed, This was stripped off and glued together to form writing 
material: thus, by transference from material to the use made of it, 
BiBdXos came’to mean book and Bi BXioy a little book. (So in Latin ‘ liber’ 
first means bark, then book; the diminutive ‘libellus’ is a little book ; 
our English {ibel suggests the use sometimes made of littie books 


THE SCRIPTURES 5 


or pamphlets as the vehicle of abuse and calumny.) In the New 
Testament the terms Bi8Aos and B:BAiov are applied to a single book of 
the Old Testament or to such a group as the Pentateuch*. In the 
Old Testament we find the plural used of the Prophets, and once 
in the Apocrypha®* the Old Testament generally is spoken of as ‘ the 
holy books.’ It was this plural use that passed over into the Christian 
Church: from the middle of the second century the Scriptures are 
spoken of as ‘the books,’ the ‘holy,’ ‘divine’ or ‘canonical books,’ 
The same notion of plurality rather than unity is seen in another term 
applied to the Scriptures by certain of the Latin Fathers and later 
writers, Bibliotheca, ‘Library’ or the ‘Divine Library.’ But when 
once the Greek plural noun £:8Aia was adopted in Latin, its original 
force was forgotten. Biblia in grammatical form may be either 
a neuter plural or a feminine singular: the growing conception of 
unity in the sacred writings helped to its interpretation as a singular ; 
and so, by error, out of biblia, books, came biblia, book, i.e. Bible. In 
our study of the Bible we may need to return to the primitive and 
proper significance of the term, considering first the parts rather than 
the whole. But we may also thankfully retain the changed signifi- 
cance as one that has wonderfully helped to give sharpness and fixity 
to the conception of one Word of God, constant and uniform amid all 
the separateness and diversity of His words to men. The Bible is at 
once a Library and a Book. 


6. Scriptures.—The name applied in the New Testament 
to the books of the Old Testament collectively is ai ypadai, 
the writings, or in Latin Tue Scrrprures4. Once we find 
the phrase ‘holy scriptures®,’ and once, with a different 
form of the Greek word, ‘sacred writings f.’ 


When the singular occurs, it is with reference not to the whole but 
to some particular passage, e.g. ‘To-day is this scripture fulfilled in 
your ears,’ following a quotation from Is 61. The collective use of 
‘Scripture,’ familiar to us and embodying the sense of oneness already 
referred to, was still in the making. The earlier usage is writings, 
books: the later, though not the less true, is Scripture, Bible. 


7. Testament.—The application of the term TresTAMENT 
carries us beyond the simple faci of books or writings to 
some indication of their main theme. Woven into the very 

®* Mk 1276 Lu 417 204, DEDnig* © x Mac 12°, 


4 Mt arf? 2929 Jn 53. ® Ro 13, {Tim 3! R. V. 
© Lu 42!: see also Mk 1a! Jn 758-42, 


6 ; INTRODUCTORY 


texture of the Old Testament is the idea of a Covenant 
between God and man. First made with Noah, repeated 
with Abraham, renewed with Israel on the deliverance from 
Egypt, symbolized in the Ark of the Covenant, it recurs 
again and again throughout history, psalm, and prophecy, 
as the relation into which God entered with His chosen 
people. In Jeremiah, prophecy reaches its height in the 
sublime prediction of the new covenant, a prediction de- 
clared by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews to be 
fulfilled in Jesus Christ*. The phrase, New Covenant, was 
appropriated by Christ at the Last Supper, and is claimed 
by Paul as the substance of the ministry to which he was 
called», This distinction of a new covenant involved a 
contrast with the old, and it was but a step to speak of the 
Jewish Scriptures as pertaining to the old covenant. Thus 
Paul refers to the Pentateuch in the words, ‘at the reading 
of the old covenant®.’ As the Gospels and other apostolic 
writings gradually took their place as Scripture they were 
distinguished by the name of ‘the new covenant,’ a usage 
established by the beginning of the third century, when 
Origen can speak of ‘the Divine Scriptures, the so-called 
Old and New Covenants.’ 

The Hebrew term for covenant, bérith, is rendered in the Greek Old 
Testament by d:a8.;*n, and this is the word used in the New Testament 
writings and afterwards applied to the collection of the New Testa- 
ment books, 4 xa:v7 d:a6nxn, ‘the New Covenant. The Latin Vulgate 
renders this by Novum Testamentum, whence our title, New Testa- 
ment. If the Latin testamentum were the equivalent of daénen, 
covenant, no more would need to be said. But, properly, it is not; nor 
is it certain that centuries of usage have quite succeeded in fixing this 
alien meaning upon the title. The Greek d:a6j«7 has a double mean- 
ing, (1) disposition, will, testament, (2) covenant : the student may 
note how in Heb 9'°—"? the writer avails himself of this double force 


to illustrate a twofold significance of the death of Christ, as ratifying 
a covenant and as securing an inheritance’, The Latin festamentum 


®* Jer 315) Heb 8&!5 yold-17, > Lu 227° x Cor 1135 a Cor 9°. 
© a Cor 3"! BR. V. @d RV. mg. 


THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS 7 


has only the former of these meanings: it is the proper rendering of 
biadyxn, will, not of SiaGsnn, covenant. In the Latin New Testament, 
however, perhaps because of this passage in Hebrews, it is employed 
in this second sense in place of the more correct Old Testament 
rendering of bérith by fedus or pactum, and so came to be the title of 
the completed book. 

8. The Law and the Prophets.—The books of the Old 
Testament fall into several divisions, the grouping of the 
English version differing from that of the original. 

The Hebrew Scriptures are divided into—Tue Law 
(Torah), THe Proruets (Nébhiim), Tue Writines (Kéthi- 
bhim). This last division was, by a pardonable paraphrase, 
rendered by the Greek translators Hagiographa, sacred 
writings. 

Among the Prophets are reckoned in a separate class 
certain of the historical books. It will be noticed that 
the number of books in the Hebrew Bible is considerably 
less than in the English Old Testament, twenty-four against 
thirty-nine. This is because the following are reckoned as 
one book each—1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, I and 
2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, the twelve Minor 
Prophets. 


Thus the grouping of the Hebrew Scriptures is as follows :— 


Law. 
t Genesis 2 Exodus 3 Leviticus 
4 Numbers 5 Deuteronomy 
PROPHETS. 
Former. 6 Joshua 7 Judges 8 Samuel 9g Kings 
Latter. to Isaiah 11 Jeremiah 12 Ezekiel 13 The Twelvo 


Writines (Hagiographa). 
14 Psalms 15 Proverbs 16 Job 





17 Song of Songs 

18 Ruth | 

19 Lamentations The five Rolls (Megilloth) 
20 Ecclesiastes ; 

21 Esther 





22 Daniel 23 Ezra and Nehemiah 24 Chronicles 


8 INTRODUCTORY 


The five Megilloth are so called because each was written on a roll 
for reading at Jewish festivals, the Song of Songs at Passover, Ruth 
at the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, Ecclesiastes at the Feast of 
Tabernacles, Esther at the Feast of Purim, while Lamentations was 
recited on the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem. 


There was also current a grouping into twenty-two books, 
given by Josephus and adopted by Jerome. It joins Ruth 
to Judges and Lamentations to Jeremiah, and is probably 
intended to correspond to the twenty-two letters of the 
Hebrew alphabet. 

The grouping of the English version follows that of the 
Latin Vulgate, which in turn is based upon that of the 
Septuagint (LX X) or Greek version, which receives its name 
from the tradition of its seventy (septuaginta) translators. 
The division is obviously according to subject-matter, viz. 
Law (five books), History (twelve books), Poetry (five books), 
and Prophecy (seventeen books). A glance at the grouping 
of the Hebrew books will show that its principle is not 
so obvious. Probably the three divisions mark three stages 
in the process of collecting the sacred writings—in other 
words, in the history of the Canon. The earliest Jewish 
Bible was the Law, the five books of Moses or Pentateuch. 
Later on, this expanded into the ‘Law and the Prophets’: 
later still, a final group was recognized as of Divine 
authority, its general title suggesting the miscellaneous 
character of its contents; and the Canon was complete— 
Law, Prophets, and Writings. 

The New Testament references to this ancient grouping of the 
Jewish Scriptures are interesting. The first division is referred to as 
‘The Law’ in places where there is clearly an allusion to or a quota- 
tion from the Pentateuch*. But in accordance with the peculiar 
reverence attached by the Jews to this portion of the sacred writings, 
the term Law becomes a designation of Old Testament Scripture 
generally, and is so used in reference to citations from the Psalms» 


and from Isaiah °. 
A fuller title for the Old Testament combines the first two of its 


* Mt 125 22°° Lu 107%, b Jn 10% ra* 1525, © 1 Cor 1474, 


THE CANON 9 


three divisions, ‘The Law and the Prophets*.’ Only once is there 
a distinct reference to the threefold grouping: ‘that all things must 
needs be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses and the 
Prophets and the Psalms concerning me”.’ Here either ‘the Psalms,’ 
as the first book of the Hagiographa, stands for the whole of the third 
division, or our Lord adds to the Law and the Prophets the one other 
Old Testament book which is most familiar and precious, as well as 
clearest in its Messianic prediction. 


9. Canon.— The twenty-four books of the Hebrew 
Scriptures, or the thirty-nine of the English version, con- 
stitute what is termed the Canon of the Old Testament. 
Each book is spoken of as Canonical (in distinction, as will 
be explained, from books that are regarded as Apocryphal) : 
the terms are similarly applied to the New Testament. 
Thus the Canon of Scripture means the complete collection 
of the books which are regarded as of Divine authority. 





The word Canon is Greek (xavwy) and means literally a straight rod, 
rule or measure: this essential idea of straightness is easily discernible 
in other words from the same root, e.g. cane, canal, cannon. The 
term came into metaphorical use, and by a transference of meaning 
common in the history of words was applied not only to that which 
measures, but to that which is so measured. Thus we speak of the 
canons of art, of taste, of grammar, and so forth. A canon of the 
Church is so called, not because the lesser clergy are expected to 
mould their lives on the pattern and measure of his, but because 
he was originally a member of a clergy house, a community of which 
all the members were bound to conform to a certain rule of faith 
and conduct: the word was transferred from the rule to the man 
who was subject to the rule. 

In its primary metaphorical sense of a standard rule of faith, 
the word occurs in the New Testament: ‘as many as shall walk by 
this rule (cavwv), peace be upon them’. It may have been in this 
most appropriate sense that in the fourth century the word came 
to be applied to Scripture, as containing the authoritative Rule by 
which human thought and life are to be moulded. But it was the 
Church that under Divine guidance formed the Canon, determining 
only after ages of doubt and debate what books should be received 
as Scripture and what rejected. Hence it is probable that we must 


* Mt 517 72 22!° Tu 1629 2427 Ro 37h. b lr 244 R.V. 
© Gal 61%: see also 2 Cor 1015-15-16, 


10 INTRODUCTORY 


rather look to the secondary sense of the word, and suppose that the 
books were first termed Canonical, not as ruling, but as ruled, i.e. 
declared by authority of the Church to be of Divine inspiration. To 
canonize a book was to include it by ecclesiastical sanction among the 
books of Holy Scripture. See further on Church authority, § 34. 


10. Apocrypha.—The Latin Vulgate, the Bible of the 
Roman Church, contains the following books in addition to 
those of the Hebrew Canon: Tobit; Judith ; Esther 10-16"; 
The Wisdom of Solomon ; The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach 
or Ecclesiasticus ; Baruch ; The Song of the Three Holy Chil- 
dren, The History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon (these 
three are additions to the Book of Daniel); The Prayer of 
Manasses, 3 and 4 Esdras (these three are placed at the end 
of the New Testament; 1 and 2 Esdras of the Vulgate are the 
canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah); 1 and 2 Maccabees. 

These additions are derived from the Greek (Septuagint) 
Version, though with some differences in detail both as to 
amount and arrangement. Broadly speaking, the Apoerypha 
is the excess of the Latin Vulgate over the Hebrew Old 
Testament. The sixth Article of the Church of England, after 
enumerating the canonical books (Ezra and Nehemiah being 
cited as 1 and 2 Esdras), prefaces a list of these additional 
books with these words, ‘And the other books (as Hierome 
saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruc- 
tion of manners ; but yet doth it not apply them to establish 
any doctrine.’ See Part II, § 422, pp. 612-614. 

This limitation of the use of the word Apocrypha is convenient, but 
does some violence both to the original meaning of the word and 
to the character of certain of the writings to which it is applied. It 
means literally hidden away (dré«pupa), and properly designates books 
dealing with what is secret, mysterious, occult. The remains of later 
Jewish and of early Christian literature afford examples of works 
of an apocalyptic character, dealing with the mysteries of the spirit 
world and revealing in symbol and allegory the future of Israel. 


Instances are the Book of Enoch*, the Assumption of Moses, the 
Apocalypse of Baruch, the Ascension of Isaiah. It was, indeed, from 


* Ju 14, 


APOCRYPHA 11 


very early times a common practice of religious and philosophical 
sects to have their secret literature, books for the initiated, literally 
hidden away from all but the elect. In sharp distinction from all such 
esoteric teaching, Christianity claimed to be for allmen. There are 
traces in the New Testament of this antithesis, in the studied associa- 
tion of the word mystery (uvorjpiov) with the opposite idea of revelation 
or knowledge?, in Paul’s contention with those at Corinth who loved 
a hidden wisdom ®, and especially in the declaration to the Colossians 
that in Christ are all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom hidden 
away (dméxpupa)*. There is no knowledge hidden away except in 
Him, and He may be known by all. 

Now, since publicity and accessibility to all are obvious marks of 
truth, while what is false and fraudulent loves the darkness, apocryphal 
easily passed from its sense of hidden away to that of spurious, and so 
came to be applied to books whose claim to a place in the Christian 
Bible was disallowed. In Reformation times it was definitely so 
applied to the books contained in the Vulgate but excluded from the 
Hebrew Canon, and to this opposition to canonical it lent the dis- 
paragement which attached to its use in connexion with the Jewish 
and Jewish-Christian occult apocalyptic literature already referred to, 
and with the apocryphal Gospels. But the Reformed Church regarded 
the uncanonical books as valuable ‘ for example of life and instruction 
of manners,’ though not of authority in matters of faith. Some of 
them are of high value, literary, historical, and ethical; notably 
1 Maccabees and Ecclesiasticus. The Apocrypha is to be regarded as 
holding an intermediate place, in parts higher, in parts lower, between 
inspired Scripture and that secret apocalyptic literature to which the 
name originally attached. See further, Part II, Ch, XVII. 


= Mt 13" Col 176, Ber Gory, a: S'Colra 


CHAPTER II 


THE OLD TESTAMENT: LANGUAGE, 
CANON, TRANSMISSION, VERSIONS 


11. External features of the Old Testament.— Before 
dealing with the Old Testament as Scripture it is necessary 
to inquire what it is as a book, and how on the human side 
it came to be. What is the language in which it was 
written? It consists of many books widely separated in 
date: when and how were these brought together? How 
may we be assured that the books have come down to us as 
they were written? These questions of Language, Canon, 
and Text are prior to that deeper study suggested by the 
inspired declaration that God of old time spake ‘unto the 
fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers 
manners,’ and that ‘men spake from God, being moyed by 
the Holy Ghost.’ 


The Language of the Old Testament 


12. The English versions of the Old Testament, the 
A. V. of 1611 and the R. V. of 1885, are of course transla- 
tions from the Hebrew. There are other earlier versions 
which are of great importance, especially the Septuagint 
(begun in the third century B.c.) and the later Greek 
versions of Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus, as well 
as the Old Latin, and Jerome’s Vulgate (c. a.p. 400), partly 
a revision of this, and partly a new translation. But the 
actual Old Testament is the twenty-four books as they 
are preserved in the original Hebrew, and to them a first- 
hand study must always direct itself. 


THE HEBREW LANGUAGE 13 


13. The Hebrew language was the language of the 
Hebrews or Israelites during their independence. The 
people themselves were known among other nations by 
the name of Hebrews and Jews, not by the name of Israel- 
ites. The epithet of Hebrew, however, applied to their lan- 
guage, occurs first in the Prologue to the apocryphal Book of 
Ecclesiasticus (c. B.c. 130). Josephus also uses the term 
Hebrew language ([Adoca trav “Efpaiwv) of the old Hebrew, 
and this is the uniform meaning of the phrase in his writ- 
ings. The Targums call the Hebrew ‘the sacred tongue,’ 
and in the Old Testament it is called the ‘lip of Canaan?,’ 
or the ‘ Jews’ language ».’ 


14. Canaanitish.—That the Hebrew language was the 
common tongue of Canaan and Pheenicia is indicated by 
such monuments of the Canaanitish dialects as we possess, 
especially the glosses on the Tel el-Amarna tablets (fifteenth 
century B.c.), borrowed Semitic words found in Egyptian 
papyri of a still earlier date, and a few Pheenician inscrip- 
tions. 

The silence of Scripture as to any difference between the language 
of Canaanites and of Hebrews is also noteworthy. They both dwelt 
in the land, and yet no difference of speech is noticed, though the 
difference between the language of Hebrew and Egyptian (Ps 81° 114!) 
is recognized, and even between the Hebrew and cognate languages ; as 
in the case of the Aramaic used by the Assyrians (Is 36"), and of the 
Eastern Aramaic used by the Chaldees (Jer 5)5). 

15. Aramaic admixture.—Hebrew, then, may be re- 
garded as the Israelitish dialect of the Canaanitish language. 
But Israel was surrounded by peoples speaking the cognate 
Aramaic, the language of Aram, a district including northern 
Mesopotamia, Syria, and a large portion of Arabia Petrza. 
The pressure of these Semitic tribes was increased after the 
fall of Samaria and disappearance of the Northern Kingdom 
(B.c. 722), and Hebrew began to suffer a process of decay 


* Ts r9)* mg. » Ts 3615 2 Ki 1876-28, 


14 THE OLD TESTAMENT LANGUAGE 


which ended in its extinction as a spoken language. It 
was still the language of Jerusalem in the time of Nehe- 
miah (13%), about B.c. 430, but long before the time of 
Christ it had been entirely superseded by Aramaic, and its 
literature was intelligible only to scholars. 


16. This Aramzan or Aramaic, like Hebrew, is of 
Semitic origin. From a very early date it was probably 
spoken in the vernacular in Babylon and Assyria, even 
while Assyrian was the official language. Some few in- 
scriptions in this old Aramaic still remain. The language 
spread widely, ultimately dispossessing Hebrew in Palestine 
itself. It was the language commonly spoken by Christ and 
His Apostles. Its most important literary remains are, 
portions of the Old Testament (Ezr 48-6", 7!2-*°; Dn 2*- 
7°) and the Jewish Targums or Paraphrases of the Old 
Testament books. The term Syrrac is properly applied to 
the Aramaic of Edessa in Western Mesopotamia, where the 
language received a literary form. But by usage the term 
came to cover other Aramaic dialects, including the verna- 
cular of Palestine. The important Syriac versions of the 
New Testament will be dealt with later. 

The term Chaldee is sometimes applied to the Aramaic portions of 
the Old Testament, and is so used by Jerome, but incorrectly. The 
Chaldeans pursued for ages a hostile immigration into Babylonia from 
the south, and finally won the kingdom, Chaldza becoming by the 
sixth century B.c. identical with Babylonia. The Chaldee language 


was the Babylonian cuneiform, almost the same as that of Assyria. 
The only correct term for these Old Testament passages is Aramaic. 


17. Of all Semitic languages the Arabic has by far the 
richest modern literature: and next to the Hebrew it is 
the most important. It is still spoken in a large portion 
of Asia, and in part of Africa. The two chief dialects of 
it are the Himyaritic, formerly spoken in Yemen, and now 
extinct, and the Coreitic, spoken in the north-west of Arabia, 
and especially at Mecca. This was a spoken language long 


SEMITIC LANGUAGES GENERALLY 15 


before the time of Mohammed, and is still the popular 
dialect. The old Arabic differs from this language in its 
forms, which are more various, and in its matter, which is 
more copious. 


18. A colony of Arabians, speaking the Himyaritic, early 
settled on the opposite side of the Red Sea in Ethiopia, and 
introduced their language into that country. This language, 
modified by time and circumstances, is the ancient Ethiopic, 
which is closely related to the Arabic. The district where 
it was spoken is the modern Abyssinia, and Amharic, or 
Giz, is the present language of the people. 

19. All these Semitic languages are of value in guiding the student 
of the Old Testament to an accurate knowledge of the original tongue, 
and no Hebrew Lexicon can be regarded as a satisfactory authority 
unless compiled with a constant reference to the meaning of the roots 
of Hebrew words in the cognate tongues. It is upon the knowledge 
and use of these tongues that the superiority of modern lexicographers 
chiefly depends. 

20. History of the Hebrew.—The Hebrew language 
undoubtedly underwent modifications in the period covered 
by the Old Testament writings. Attempts have been made 
to mark off successive stages in this development and to 
assign certain books to certain periods on linguistic grounds. 
The data, however, are too scanty and too uncertain for 
this to be done with any confidence. Some books contain 
Persian and Aramaic words which suggest a late date, as 
well as other common elements which may be regarded 
as characteristic of ‘New Hebrew.’ To this post-classical 
period are generally assigned the Books of Chronicles, Ezra, 
Nehemiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Daniel. The golden 
age, or classical period, is best exhibited in Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, and Deuteronomy. Of the ante-classical or early 
Hebrew too little is known to warrant confident statements 
as to the date of Old Testament writings. 


16 THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON 


The Canon of the Old Testament 


21. History of the Old Testament Canon.—The mean- 
ing of the term Canon and the actual contents of the Old 
Testament Canon have already been dealt with*. The 
quesvuion now arises, how did the books come together? 
What evidence have we as to the age in which the Canon 
was formed and as to the authority by which the inclusion 
or exclusion of individual writings was determined? Is the 
Canon in its completeness due to a single epoch and a single 
decision of the Church, or may we distinguish the different 
stages of its beginnings, its extension, and its close ? 

It is important to keep this inquiry within its proper 
historical limits. It does not ignore the Divine control ; 
indeed, its issue is to bring this element in the case into 
sharp relief; but its immediate concern is with the human 
facts. ¥, It recognizes that each of the canonical books pos- 
/sesses a quality which determined its acceptance. A book 
is not raised to the dignity and authority of Scripture by 
_ the Church’s acceptance of it: it was accepted because first_ 
) perceived to be of Divine origin, and, theoretically at least, 
the same insight may yet lead to the widening or the 
narrowing of the Canon. Questions of authenticity and 
inspiration lie in the background, but for the present they 
must be kept there. An historical fact lies before us in 
a completed Old Testament Canon: our business is, if we 
can, to date that fact and to trace the earlier historical 
facts in which it has its explanation. It will be seen that 
the evidence is of a fragmentary nature. A few out- 
standing facts must be pieced together into a consistent 
narrative by the help of scattered indications; even the 
probabilities of the case must be relied on where direct 
testimony is wanting. 


® See §§ 8, 9. 


( 
) 
L. 


GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS | 17 


22. General Considerations.—There are certain general 
considerations which may help us to interpret the evidences 
for the formation of the Canon. 


1. The Canon is the result of a gradual growth. Ecclesi- 
astical authority did not create it: all it could do was to 
give formal sanction and fixity to that collection of writings 
which had gradually won recognition as Divine. 

Several indications converge upon this natural probability 
of gradual formation. 

a, It is suggested, as already pointed out, by the threefold division 
uf the Canon. The Law stands first, not only because it deals with 
the beginnings of Jewish history, but because the Pentateuch formed 
the first collection of books recognized as of Divine authority. The 
group known as the Writings, or Hagiographa, owes its general title 
and the varied character of its contents to the fact that it represents 
the final stage in the canonization of the Jewish sacred books. 

b. It is certain that Ezra had some part in the formation of the 
Canon. But as the Canon includes the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah 
he must haye left it incomplete. 

c. Ezra gave the people ‘the Book of the Law of Moses*’. The title 
and other indications in the narrative make it probable that this was 
the Pentateuch only. 

d. This priority of the Law in a gradual process of canonization is 
confirmed by the exceptional reverence which the Jews have always 
attached to this portion of their sacred writings. This appears in the 
later parts of the Old Testament itself, Psalm 119 being a conspicuous 
example. The last of the Prophets admonishes the people almost in 
his final words, ‘Remember ye the law of Moses My servant.’ When 
we turn to the New Testament we find the Old Testament generally 
quoted as the Law». The perplexity of the Sadducees as to the resur- 
rection and our Lord’s choice of a proof-text ° are more easily under- 
stood, if we may suppose that this sect not only rejected the authority 
of oral tradition, but exalted the Law in their estimate of the Old 
Testament writings. 

e. The Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim was founded by 
Manasseh, grandson of Eliashib, a renegade Jewish priest expelled by 
Nehemiah. To this day the Samaritan Bible consists of the Penta- 
teuch only. An explanation of this fact would be that at the time 
of the rupture the only Jewish Scriptures which had been formally 


= Ne 8}, > See § 8. ~ ¢ Mt aa2s-8s, 
c 


18 THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON 


‘canonized’ were the five books of the Law. This is confirmed by the 
archaic characters in which the Samaritan Pentateuch is written 
(see § 28, 2, Versions). 

2. The beginnings of the Canon are not to be confounded 
with the beginnings of Hebrew sacred literature. The writings 
must first be there before that process of selection could 
begin which would issue in a Canon of Seripture having 
religious authority. To canonize a book—the word belongs 
to Christian times, but the fact is pertinent to the Old 
Testament Canon—meant (1) the recognition that its teach- 
ing was in a unique sense Divine ; (2) the consequent ascrip- 
tion to it of a religious authority by a community or its 
leaders.. See § 9. It is quite possible that writings of this 
sort might exist for ages in a community overlooked, or even 
forgotten, until some national crisis might awaken the 
people to discern anew their value, and bring home the 
need of separating them, and of putting upon them this 
seal of Divine authority. 


3. A book may have had a long literary history before its 
admission into the Canon. This is perhaps most obvious in 
regard to the Book of Psalms. Many of those inspired songs 
were certainly held to be of Divine authority before all were 
written, and therefore before the Psalter as a whole was 
‘canonized.’ In other books we may clearly discern the 
inclusion of fragmentary material, venerable for its anti- 


quity. 

In the Pentateuch are imbedded separate codes of Law which in all 
probability are older than the books in which they appear. A store of 
national religious poetry is indicated by the Song of Deborah, the 
Song of Moses and the Children of Israel after the crossing of the Red 
Sea, the Dirge of David over Saul. The titles of two such collections 
are preserved in ‘The Book of the Wars of the Lord’ Num 21 and 
‘The Book of Jasher’ (the Upright) Jos ro, 2 Sa 1'8.- History 
was preserved in the same way: the historical books contain refer- 
ences to such earlier chronicles as ‘ The history of Samuel the seer and 
the history of Nathan the prophet and the history of Gad the seer’ 1 Ch 
29° R, V.: ‘The Book of the Acts of Solomon’ 1 Ki 11*, ‘The histories 


THE CANON IN CHRISTIAN TIMES 19 


of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer’ 2 Ch 12", and others. 
The prophetical books, again, are obviously collections of utterances 
separately spoken and separately preserved. Behind the books of the 
Old Testament we may frequently discern an earlier literature, the 
primitive records in song} law, history, prophecy, of the nation’s life 
and the nation’s faith. And we may recognize in the making of an 
Old Testament book the three stages—the primitive material, the editing 
into present literary form, and the canonization or final acceptance as 
Scripture. It need hardly be added that to acknowledge this principle 
of literary growth neither impairs the Divine authority of the books 
nor involves the extravagant analysis of some modern imaginative 
criticism. 

23. The Canon in Christian times.—The Jewish litera- 
ture of the second century a. p. shows clearly that the Canon 
was then complete, though the right of some few books to 
a place in it was not free from criticism. 


The earliest decisive witness is that of the Jewish historian Josephus, 
who about a.D. go writes*: ‘ For we have not (i.e. as the Greeks have) 
myriads of books disagreeing and contradicting one another, but only 
twenty-two... justly believed in. And of these, five are the books of 
Moses which comprise the laws and the traditions of the origin of 
mankind till his death....The prophets who were after Moses wrote 
down what was done in their times in thirteen books, The remaining 
four books contain hymns to God and precepts for the conduct of 
human life.’ The ‘twenty-two’ is probably reached as explained in § 8. 
In the context Josephus gives emphatic expression to the reverence 
with which his countrymen regard their collections of sacred writings, 
no one venturing ‘ to add or to remove or to alter a syllable. By this 
time, then, the Canon was virtually settled. The testimony of 
Josephus is the more striking because he is writing in Greek to Greeks. 
Both he and they were familiar with the LXX version, which, as we 
have seen, contains the apocryphal books. But writing as the spokes- 
man of his nation he expressly limits the Old Testament Canon to the 
writings contained in the Hebrew Scriptures. And his evidence leads 
us to look for the mark of canonicity, rather in long recognition of 
these books as ancient and as divinely inspired than in some formal 
ecclesiastical decision. At the same time, it is probable that such 
a decision, endorsing received opinion, was pronounced at the Council 
of Jamnia, near Jaffa, the chief centre of Palestinian Judaism after 
the fall of Jerusalem. The scattering of the nation and destruction of 
the Temple might well lead to increased care for the sacred writings. 


* Against Apion, 1. 8. 
C2 


20 THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON 


It is certain that about a.p. 90 there were debates at Jamnia, of which 
the outcome was to give greater fixity to the Canon. 


Of its virtual completion long before this date of a.p. 90 
we have decisive evidence in the New Testament. There is 
no need, and this is not the place, to speak of the reverence 
accorded by Christ and His Apostles to the Old Testament 
Scriptures, or of the extent to which, both in direct quotation 
and in allusion, they pervade the whole of the New Testa- 
ment. This recognition of inspired ‘oracles of God’ is 
indubitable: the question is whether it enables us to de- 
termine the limits of the Canon in New Testament times. 
It has been held on various grounds that the apostolic 
writings do not give satisfactory evidence of a closed Canon 
identical with the Hebrew Scriptures, and the matter is of 
sufficient importance to call for some examination. 


1. It is pointed out that the Apostles’ Bible, from which they 
habitually quote, was the LXX, and that this version contains the 
apocryphal books. That they used the LXX is true, and, unless they 
quote its Apocrypha as Scripture, is also irrelevant. Whether they do 
will be considered below (see 3 infra), Josephus used the LXX, but 
distinguishes with precision between its cagonical books and ‘those 
which have not been accounted equally worthy of credit.’ 


2. It is further noted that some books of the Jewish Canon have no 
direct quotation in the New Testament. The fact is as stated : the wonder 
is that these books are so few in number—Obadiah and Nahum among 
the Prophets, Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes. 
But no question can arise as to the canonicity of Obadiah and Nahum, 
for they form part only of a single book of which there is ample 
recognition, the Book of the Twelve Prophets. As to the rest we have 
only to consider whether, assuming them to be in the Canon, they con- 
tain matter likely to have been quoted, to see how futile this argument 
from silence is. Moreover, Esther, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes belong 
to a single group of five (the Megilldth), of which the remaining two do 
receive a recognition which, it may fairly be argued, applies to the 
whole group. Ezra (including Nehemiah) again stands in a final 
group of three, with Daniel and Chronicles. The Book of Daniel 
has specific mention*. There are also words of our Lord referring to 
2 Chronicles, which gain new point if we suppose that He is passing 


=~ Mt 24", 


THE CANON IN PRE-CHRISTIAN TIMES 21 


in review not so much the range of Jewish history as the range of 
the Canon from its first book to its last, Genesis to 2 Chronicles : 
‘from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah 
son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar *. 

3. The apostolic writers are said to show an acquaintance with and 
even to cite as Scripture certain of the apocryphal books. The 
acquaintance is undoubted: the writer to the Hebrews makes use of 
1 and 2 Maccabees”: the citation cannot be maintained. The alleged 
instances ° cannot be assigned to any passages of the Apocrypha, and 
may, with one exception, be explained as presenting the substance of 
several Old Testament utterances as a single quotation. The exception 
is Jude 4-16; but as the Book of Enoch there cited is not in the 
Apocrypha, and never had any pretensions to canonicity, Jude's use 
of it has no bearing upon this question of the New Testament evidence 
to the Old Testament Canon. 


The attempt, therefore, to show that the New Testament 
writers are not clear in their witness to the limits of Old 
Testament Scripture breaks down. The facts are all the 
other way. Though there is only one distinct reference to 
the threefold division’, the evidence is decisive that not 
only the Law and the Prophets, but the Writings also, had 
full recognition as long-established Scripture from Christ 
and His Apostles, and that the Word of God, which fed the 
springs of their life, fashioned their thought, and inspired 
their message to the world, was that Old Testament which is 
in our hands to-day. 


24. The Canon in pre-Christian times.—Tracing back 
still farther the history of the Canon, we come upon two 
important pieces of evidence in the apocryphal Book of 
Ecclesiasticus or ‘the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach,’ 
The prologue to the book is by the author’s grandson, who, 
¢. B.C. 130, translated his grandfather’s Hebrew work into 
Greek. It contains three distinct references to the Hebrew 
Scriptures under the threefold division of the Jewish 
Canon—‘ the Law and the Prophets and the others that have 


= Mt 23® R. V. 2 Ch a4”). > Heb rr5!-88, 
© Mt 297° Lu rr*° Jn 7584? x: Cor 29 Eph 5!4 Ju #-18, 4 See § 8. 


22 THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON. 


followed in their steps,’ ‘the Law and the Prophets and the 
other books of our fathers,’ ‘the Law itself, and the Prophesy 
and the rest of the books’ R. V. 

Further, Jesus ben Sirach wrote his book soon after ~ 
B.c. 200. In chapters 44-50 he has a long eulogy of the 
great men of Israel, beginning, ‘ Let us now praise famous 
men, and our fathers that begat us.” His descriptions are 
mostly taken from the canonical books, to the reading of 
which his grandson tells us he had ‘ much given himself.’ 
There is specific reference to every book of the Law and the 
Prophets and to most of the Hagiographa, The order of 
their narrative is followed, while an express mention of ‘the 
Twelve Prophets’ shows that in his time this collection as 
it appears in the Hebrew Canon had long been formed. 

Here then is proof that two centuries before the Christian 
era the Law and the Prophets and, at least, the greater part 
of the Hagiographa had taken their place as Seripture. 
The 250 years which lie between ben Sirach and Ezra yield 
no evidence, yet it is almost certain that within this period 
the Canon was gradually formed. Ages before Ezra the 
Jews had had their sacred writings. Law, Prophecy, 
History, Psalms were treasured and revered, as many Old 
Testament passages plainly show*. But the peculiar task 
of Ezra was to lead the people to accept a written and sacred 
code of law as the absolute rule of faith and life. This 
is to establish a Canon, and, by common consent, the begin- 
ning of the Old Testament Canon is to be found in Ezra’s 
promulgation of the Law (s.c. 444). So far as the evidence 
gues this is the extent of Ezra’s connexion with the Canon. 
To him and his coadjutors is due the cid division of the 
Hebrew Scriptures, the Law (ep. § 22, 

The fantastic Jewish legend found in the ae Book of Esdras 
(cq A.D. 100), and repeated by many Christian Fathers and divines 
* e.g. Ex 31)§ 407 Dt 3126 r Sa 107° Is 3416 2 Ki 22°18, 

> See Ne 8-10. © ‘Second’ of A. V. 


THE CANON IN PRE-CHRISTIAN TIMES 23 


down to Reformation times, how that all the books of Scripture 
perished by fire when Jerusalem was destroyed, and that Ezra was 
inspired to recall them to memory and commit them to writing, is not 
worthy of further notice. Its place was taken, from the sixteenth 
century, by a tradition of the ‘ Men of the Great Synagogue,’ a Council 
of which Ezra was President, and which included among its 120 
members Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Daniel, and Simon 
the Just. To this Council is attributed the work of separating out 
the inspired Scriptures from spurious writings, of rectifying the sacred 
text, and of fixing once for all the Canon with its triple division. 
But the evidence for this tradition will not bear examination: by 
a consensus of modern scholars the very existence of the Great 
Synagogue is regarded as a Rabbinic fiction*; and Ezra’s work, so far 
as it can be known, was limited to the canonizing of the Pentateuch. 


How soon the Law was supplemented by the second 
division—the Prophets (including the historical Books of 
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings), cannot be determined. 
A tradition, which may be based on truth, is preserved in 
2 Maccabees », asserting of Nehemiah that ‘he, founding a 
library, gathered together the books about the kings and 
prophets, and the books of David, and letters of kings about 
sacred gifts.’ This would be at any rate the preparation 
for the enlargement of the Canon, but when the second 
division was formally canonized we cannot say. What is 
certain is ‘that in the 250 years from Ezra to ben Sirach 
(B.C. 444—c. 200) a Canon of sacred books was formed prac- 
tically identical with that of the Hebrew Scriptures. 

It should be added that nearly two centuries before Ezra, 
there is mention of an authoritative book. In the eighteenth 
year of King Josiah (B.c. 621) repairs were being made in 
the Temple, and ‘ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan 
the scribe, I have found the book of the Law in the hous« 
of the Lord’.’ Shaphan read it himself, and again before 
the king, who rent his clothes in consternation. After 
appeal to Huldah the prophetess, the king, undaunted ky 


® See Ryle, Canon of the Old Testament, Excursus A. 
> 2 Mac 2!8, C2 Ka 22s 


24 THE OLD TESTAMENT 


the threatened woes, read in the ears of all the people ‘the 
words of the book of the covenant which was found in the 
house of the Lord.’ Vigorous religious reforms followed, ‘to 
confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this 
book.’ 

There can hardly be a doubt that this book, so strangely 
recovered and recognized at once as of Divine authority, was 
among the writings afterwards canonized by Ezra, The 
narrative of 2 Kings 22 and 23 would seem to point to some- 
thing considerably briefer than the Pentateuch, clear and 
emphatic in its teaching concerning national duty, Many 
indications suggest that what Hilkiah found, and the king 
used to correct religious abuse and neglect, was the Book 
of Deuteronomy. ; 


The Transmission of the Text of the 
Old Testament 


25. Transmission of the Text.—We pass from the 
question of the formation of the Canon to that of the trans- 
mission of its contents to modern times. In 4.p. 1477, 
twenty-seven years after the invention of printing, the first 
portion of a printed Hebrew Bible appeared—the Book of 
Psalms. In 1488 came the first complete Hebrew Bible. 
For the purposes of our inquiry we must of course pass 
beyond the printed text to the MSS. which preceded it, and 

. trace back as far as we may the history of the sacred text 
transmitted from age to age by the labour of the copyists. 

At once we encounter two striking facts: (1) The earliest 
MS. which has been preserved is that of the latter prophets 
dated A.p. 916, while the oldest MS. of the entire Old Testa- 
ment is Ioo years later, A.p. 1010. Both these are preserved 
in the Imperial Library of St. Petersburg. (2) The existing 
MSS. show no divergence of text. That is, from the tenth 


TRANSMISSION OF THE TEXT 25 


century onwards we possess a fixed text of the Old Testa- 
ment, but a gap of 1,500 years separates this from the days 
of Ezra. 


The difference between the textual history of the Old Testament 
and that of the New is very marked. The two oldest MSS. of the 
Greek Testament may be dated about a. D. 350, i e. nearly 300 years 
after the books were written. Moreover, while the bulk of the 
available MSS. present a certain uniformity of text, among the minority 
there are considerable divergences. All textual critics are agreed 
that the true text is to be reached by an elaborate process of com- 
parison between the existing materials. A good eritical edition of 
the New Testament contains in all probability a much purer text 
than would be gained by printing any single manuscript, even the 
most ancient, as it stands. 

Now this fixity of the Old Testament text declares to us the fidelity 
with which the copyists have done their work, guarding the trust 
committed to them from those perils of corruption which inevitably 
attend the process of copying, and handing down through the ages 
the text, letter for letter, as they received it. Even the strange 
disappearance of more ancient MSS. has been ascribed to the same 
fidelity ; it is said that when too much worn for use they were 
destroyed, lest they should suffer any profanation. 


The question remains: when, and under what conditions 

did the text receive its fixity? Has it been so from the first, 
so that we may believe that the sacred autographs have come 
down to us practically without change? Or must we rather 
suppose that at some period one form of the text was declared 
by authority to be the true one, deviations from it being 
suppressed and rapidly becoming extinct? It is important 
to determine what it is that the scribes have passed on 
through the ages with such reverent care. 
_ We have seen that we can trace back the stream of manu- 
script copies to the opening of the tenth century a.p.: there 
it is lost, but we know it must have flowed down con- 
tinuously from the time of Ezra. Are there indications 
which enable us to say anything about it beyond mere 
speculation ? 

In reply, it is impertant to note, in the first place, that 


ee) \ th Le, ae 


26 THE OLD TESTAMENT 


the work of transmitting the text was entrusted to a guild 
of specially trained scholars. 


We shall better realize the necessity of this when we remember 
that already at the time of Christ Hebrew had ceased to be a spoken 
language. The ‘holy tongue,’ as it was called, in which the sacred 
books were written, was handed down by oral tradition. The seribe 
had his MS. to copy, but apart from the interpretation the text was 
practically in an unknown tongue. Hence his work was not simply 
to copy, but to transmit what his teacher communicated to him of 
the meaning. 

1. Apart from the unfamiliarity of what was now only a written 
literary language, not the spoken dialect of ordinary life, there was 
a special source of ambiguity common to Hebrew with other Semitic 
languages. As originally written, it consisted of consonants only, 
the vowel sounds being supplied by the reader. But it is obvious 
-that there might be words of widely different meaning consisting 
of the same consonants variously vocalized. The word as written 
is in fact ambiguous; its interpretation depends upon the accuracy 
of tradition. An actual instance may be quoted by way of illustration. 
In Heb 117! it is said of Jacob that he ‘worshipped leaning upon 
the top of his staff,’ whereas in Gen 47°! the words run, * He bowed 
himself upon the bed’s head’ R.V., A.V. The Hebrew for both bed 
and staff consists of the three consonants MTH, which in the Hebrew 
text are thus vocalized, M'TT*H, bed; the author of Hebrews quotes 
from the Septuagint, which reads the word thus, M*TT*H, stag. 

2. Again, the connexion of words is often ambiguous. Take an 
illustration from the New Testament in Ro 9° ‘of whom is the Christ 
as concerning the flesh, He Who is over all, God blessed for ever.’ The 
words as they stand are a unique assertion of the deity of Christ. 
But if a full stop be put at ‘ flesh ’"—‘ of whom is the Christ as concerning 
the flesh. He Who is over all, God, blessed for ever’—the whole 
sense of the passage is altered. Again, in Is 40°, are we to read 
‘the voice of one that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way 
of the Lord,’ or ‘the voice of one that crieth, In the wilderness 
prepare ye the way of the Lord’? 

3. Allsuch matters of interpretation of individual words and the 
general sense of the passage were handed down by tradition. They 
were not discussed or altered, but simply passed on with absolute 
unchanging authority. In our printed Hebrew Bibles they are settled 
for us, for there an elaborate system of accents fixes the meaning 
of each word, its pronunciation, its exact cadence in the synagogic 
recitation and the connexion of the words. But this was not invented 


and worked out till about a, p. 800. It reduces to written form a body 
/ 


FIDELITY IN COPYING Ree 


of tradition—Massora—collected and handed down by the Massoretes; 
and the text thus interpreted is called the Massoretic Text. 

26. Fidelity in copying.—There are in Hebrew MSS. 
and our printed Bibles curious indications of the exact 
fidelity with which the original MS. we have spoken of was 
reproduced. Some words have odd marks over them not 
understood, perhaps originating in an accidental splutter of 
the pen, but faithfully repeated in every copy. 

Sometimes we find a letter almost double the ordinary size 
and sometimes one unusually small—again, possibly, a per- 
petuation of mere accident. Sometimes a letter is placed 
above the line. The books have notes appended, stating such 
points as the number of words and the middle word. In 
addition to what appears in our Bibles, there are huge 
collections of Massoretic notes, dealing with such matters as 
how often each letter of the Hebrew alphabet occurs in the 
Old Testament, and how many verses contain all the letters 
of the alphabet. All this fills us with amazement, and with 
thankfulness for the microscopic accuracy with which these 
men did their work of preserving the sacred text. Toasmall 
extent also they hand down authoritative criticism of the text. 
They make us aware that the text perpetuated is not faultless ; 
here and there a word ought to be inserted or changed, or left 
out. But all such traditional criticism—it does not amount 
to much—is in the margin: the text is too sacred to be 
tampered with even when declared to be wrong. But we 
have seen that the consonants were the real text, the vowels 
a human device of interpretation. Accordingly, if a word in 
the text was judged to be superfluous, it was left, but was 
not provided with any vowels ; if a word was to be inserted, 
its vowels were written without consonants; if a word was 
to be changed, its consonants were left, but were provided 
with the vowels of the word to be substituted. The con- 
sonants of the correct word are given in the margin with 
a note to the effect that so-and-so is written (Kéthibh), but 
so-and-so is to be read (Qéri). 


28 THE OLD TESTAMENT VERSIONS 


Versions of the Old Testament 


27. The Text in pre-Massoretic times.—By the work 
of the Massoretes, then, and their predecessors from the 
close of the first century onwards, the stream of the trans- 
mitted Hebrew text was made to run in a clear-cut channel 
and guarded from the possibility of defilement. They have 
given us with extraordinary fidelity what they received. 
It only remains to consider whether the same process of 
faithful preservation and reproduction can be traced back 
from apostolic times to the days of Ezra and beyond. 
It must be frankly admitted that it cannot, and that we are 
dependent for the purity of the Hebrew text on the skill 
with which the Massoretic text was determined and the 
scrupulous care with which it has been transmitted. Im- 
portant evidence is here afforded by the Versions, which 
indicate more or less precisely the Hebrew text of the age 
in which they were made, 


28. Semitic Versions.—1. Among these versions, the first 
place must be given to the Targums, as the nearest in 
language to the Hebrew original. 

When the Jews returned from Babylonian exile they 
had to a great extent lost the use of their own language. 
It was needful, therefore, not only to read the Seriptures 
to them in the original, but to ‘give the meaning’ (see 
Ne 88). This was done orally, paraphrastically. After a 
while, the paraphrased translation was written down in 
a series of targums (‘interpretations’) in the ‘ Chaldee,’ or 
more correctly, the Eastern Aramaic dialect. These tar- 
gums were no doubt numerous ; those which have descended 
to us are all dated after the Christian era, The oldest are 
that on the Law, by Onkelos, a friend of Gamaliel, and that 
on the Prophets, by Jonathan ben Uzziel, said to have been 
a disciple of Hillel. Two others on the Pentateuch are 


THE SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH 29 


earlier than the seventh century: one wrongly attributed 
to this same Jonathan, the other (now existing only in 
fragments) known as the Jerusalem Targum. All of these, 
with others of less importance on the Hagiographa, contain 
vapid paraphrases and fabulous additions, but are useful, 
with due caution, in the examination of the Hebrew text 4. 


2. The Samaritan Pentateuch.— This, in a dialect 
kindred with the Hebrew, and written in the old Hebrew 
characters, is rather a recension than a translation of the 
Hebrew text. Copies are referred to by Eusebius and Cyril, 
but it was long thought that the whole had perished. In 
the early part of the seventeenth century, however, a copy 
was transmitted from Constantinople to Paris. Ussher after- 
wards procured six copies, and Kennicott collated sixteen. 
The account of this recension, regarded as most probable 
by Kennicott and many subsequent critics, is that it was 
carried into the northern kingdom at the time of the 
secession of the Ten Tribes. Could this view be substan- 
tiated, it would form important evidence for the antiquity 
of the Pentateuch. National animosity, it was contended, 
would prevent this reception, in the Israelite kingdom, of 
the Prophets and Hagiographa. The ancient form of the 
letters, it was also maintained, would prove an early date— 
at the latest, some time before the Babylonian captivity. 

It is now, however, held by most scholars that this copy 
of the Pentateuch was carried to Samaria by Manasseh, at 
the establishment of rival worship on Mount Gerizim. The 
question, which has given rise to much controversy, cannot 
yet be regarded as fully settled. 

The critical value of the readings of this recension was at first 


over-estimated, but now they are held to be not at all superior to the 
Hebrew. The LXX seems to have followed it more frequently than 


*The Targums on the Pentateuch, by Onkelos and the Pseudo- 
Jonathan, have been translated into English by J. W. Etheridge 
(Longmans, 1862, 1865). 


30 THE OLD TESTAMENT VERSIONS 


the present Hebrew text, from which, however, it does not materially 
differ, Gesenius deems its readings preferable to the Hebrew in 
Gen 4°, where it supplies the words ‘Let us go into the field’; 
in Gen 14}*, where it reads ‘he numbered,’ instead of ‘he armed’ ; 
in Gen 22!%, where it omits the words ‘ behind him’; and in Gen 49", 
where the difference is in expression only and not in sense. The 
Samaritan copy is of great value in determining the history of the 
Hebrew vowels, and in confirming the general accuracy of the present 
text, but it is not a source of valuable independent emendation. 

The ancient Samaritan Pentateuch must not be confounded with 
the more modern Samaritan version, which is printed with the other 
in the Polyglots. This is a very literal translation into modern 
Samaritan. ‘ 


29. Greek Versions: the Septuagint.—The version by 
‘the seventy’ was made in Egypt by Alexandrian Jews. 
The story of Aristeas, a writer who pretended to be a Gentile 
and favourite at the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus, is that 
this version was made by seventy-two Jews (six from each 
tribe) sent to Alexandria (B.c. 285) by Eleazar at the request 
of Demetrius Phalareus, the king’s librarian, and that the 
whole was completed in seventy-two days. To this story 
various additions were made, claiming miraculous interposi- 
tion for the work, and infallibility for the translators. 
Dr. Hody conclusively proved that the narrative could not 
be authentic: though nothing has been discovered that 
materially affects either the value or the date of the version, 
which was probably made at different times after the date 
assigned. When it was completed, there is no evidence to 
show. Regarding the work critically, it may be observed . 
that it contains many Greco-Egyptian words, and that the 
Pentateuch is translated with much more accuracy than the 
other books. The Book of Job, the Psalms, and the Prophets, 
are all inferior, and especially Isaiah and Daniel. The his- 
torical books are often inaccurately translated. 

In the early Christian Church this version was deemed 
of great value, though writers often appealed against it to 
the Hebrew. With the view of correcting it, Origen formed 


GREEK VERSIONS: THE SEPTUAGINT 31 


his Hevapla, or six-columned version (a. D. 228), containing, 
besides the LX X, Greek translations of the Old Testament 
by Aquila of Pontus (about a. p. 130), Theodotion of Ephesus 
(about a.p. 160), and Symmachus, a Samaritan (a.D. 218). 
The other two columns contained (1) the Hebrew text, and 
(2) the same in Greek characters. This work, which made 
altogether fifty volumes, perished probably at the sacking 
of Czsarea by the Saracens, a.p. 653 ; but happily the text 
of the LXX (which formed one of the columns) had been 
copied by Eusebius, together with the corrections or addi- 
tions which Origen had inserted from the other translators. 
This Hexaplarian text, as it is called, was published by 
Montfaucon at Paris, in 1714. The principal MSS. of the 
LXX are the Vatican (B), the Sinaitic (x), the Alexandrian 
(A), together with fragments of Codex Ephraemi (C). 

Among printed editions of the LXX are—the Complu- 
tensian (1517), which often follows the Massoretic Hebrew 
and Origen’s Hexapla; the Aldine (1518), exhibiting many 
of the readings of B; the Roman or Vatican (1587), based 
on B; the Grabian (1707-1720), which is taken chiefly from 
A; and the Cambridge critical edition of H. B. Swete 
(1887-1894). 

The version is rather free than literal, and frequently 
misses the sense of the original. It is to a great extent 
useful in settling the original text, but is more valuable 
in interpretation, although it often fails in difficult passages, 
from the freeness of its renderings, the carelessness and 
ignorance of the translators, and the absence of fixed rules 
of translation. Allowing for these sources of error, it must 
be added that the LXX often indicates an underlying text 
different from the Massoretic. 


‘At some time,’ writes Dr. Swete, ‘between the age of the LXX and 
that of Aquila, a thorough revision of the Hebrew Bible must have taken 
place, probably under official direction.’ Again, ‘It is sufficient to warn 
the beginner that in the LXX he has before him the version of an 


32 THE OLD TESTAMENT VERSIONS 


early text which often differed materially from the text of the printed 
Hebrew Bible and of all existing Hebrew MSS,’ Again, ‘We are 
driven to the conclusion that the transition from a fluctuating to 
a relatively fixed text took effect during the interval between the 
fall of Jerusalem and the completion of Aquila’s version.’ 

30. Old Latin.— Among the earliest versions founded on 
the LX X was the Latin, made in Africa, and often transcribed 
in whole or part in various districts of the empire. Some 
have thought, from the differences in the copies, that several 
distinct versions were made; but the more probable opinion 
is that they were all recensions of the same original. Of 
these recensions, the most important was made in Italy, 
partly with a view to correct the provincialisms and other 
defects in the African translation. Augustine® refers to this 
version as the Jtala. Jerome bears testimony to its general 
excellence. Its prevailing type of text, as may be gathered 
from fragments which still remain", accords with the 
Alexandrian MS., and the version may be traced back, by 
quotations in Tertullian, at least to the latter part of the 
second century. 

The diversities and imperfections of the Latin copies 
induced Jerome (a. D. 382) to revise the text, as Origen had 
previously revised that of the LXX. He employed for this 
purpose the Hexapla, by which he carefully corrected the 
whole of the Old Testament ; though portions only of his 
revision remain. But as his labours were drawing to a close, 
the LXX, long favourably received by the Jews, began to 
fall into disrepute, on the ground, probably, that it was 
appealed to by Christians. To meet this feeling, Jerome 
undertook to prepare a translation into Latin direct from 
the Hebrew. He devoted the larger portion of twenty years 
to this work, which was completed in a.p. 405. A super- 
stitious reverence for the LXX led many to oppose this 
version, but it gradually gained influence, and in the time of 

* De Doctrina Christiana, ii. 15. 
» Job, Psalms, some of the Apocrypha, and parts of other books. 


VULGATE. AND SYRIAC 33 


Gregory the Great (a. p. 604) it had at least a co-ordinate 
authority, and was dignified with the name of the Vulgate 
(‘versio vulgata,’ the current version). The text was made 
up in part from the old Latin, in part from Jerome’s 
improved edition of that version, and is in part a new 
version formed immediately from the Hebrew. Jerome 
was acquainted with Hebrew expositors, and many of their 
interpretations are embodied in the Vulgate; but generally 
- it follows the LXX, even when that version differs from the 
Hebrew. It is more useful for interpretation than for criti- 
cism of the text, though for both it is of value. The version 
of the Psalms was made from the Hexapla, and is called the 
Psalterium Gallicanum. The text was early corrupted, and 
various learned men undertook to revise it, among whom 
were Alcuin and Lanfrane. An authorized edition was 
issued in 1590 by Sixtus V, only, however, to be immedi- 
ately withdrawn, and superseded by that of Clement VIII 
(1592). Critical editions are those of Vercellone (1861) and 
Tischendorf (1864)2. 


31. The Syriac or Western Aramaic Versions.—The 
Peshitta (‘correct’ or ‘simple’) version of the Scriptures 
was made direct from the Hebrew, and agrees closely with 
the Massoretic Text. Neither time nor place of this trans- 
lation is known, but it is in the highest degree probable 
that Syrian Christians would, at a very early period, obtain 
the Scriptures in theirown tongue. From internal evidence 
it is believed that the translators were Jewish Christians, 
and that they translated the Old Testament from the original 
Hebrew. This version contains all the canonical books of 
the Old Testament, and all those of the New, except 2 Peter, 
2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. The text differs from 
all the chief families of MSS., and each in succession has 

8 Of the Vulgate as prepared by Jerome, the most important MS. 


is the Codex Amiatinus now at Florence. It was written in North- 
umberland about the close of the seventh century a.D. 


D 


~ 


oa, | 


34 THE OLD TESTAMENT VERSIONS 


claimed it. It was first printed in the Paris and London 
Polyglots, and is of great critical value. Its important place 
in New Testament criticism will be shown in the next 
chapter, when other Syriac versions, of the New Testament 
alone, will also be described. 


32. Other ancient Versions. Ecclesiastical history places the con- 
version of Ethiopia about a.p. 330, and to the same or following cen- 
tury belongs the translation of the Scriptures into Giz or Ethiopic ; 
see §18. Its author is not known. Perfect copies of the Old Testa- 
ment are not common, though Bruce states that he found several ; 
and there are MSS. of this version in some of the libraries of Europe. 
Only fragments have been printed. The text is founded entirely on 
the LXX, and follows the readings of A. 

The greater part of the Old Testament is also extant in the Coptic 
dialects of Egypt (Memphitic in the N., Thebaic in the S.), though only 
a portion has been printed. The most probable date of their origin is 
the third and fourth century, though some suppose them to have been 
made as early as the first and second. Both are founded on the LXX, 
and generally follow the readings of A. The translators are not known. 

The Gothic version of the Bible was made by Ulphilas, a bishop of 
the Meso-Goths, who assisted at the Synod of Constantinople in a.p. 
360. The version was made from the LXX, and is of considerable 
critical value, though unhappily only fragments of it remain. 

Of the Armenian version little more is known than that it was 
made about the beginning of the fifth century, and based upon the 
Syriac, though afterwards revised from the LXX. The translator 
was the patriarch Mesrob, The Georgian version was made in the 
following century, from copies of the Armenian translation. The 
Armenian version has been repeatedly printed (the best edition being 
that by Zohrab, Venice, 1805); and the whole Bible, in Georgian, 
was printed at Moscow in 1743, parts of it having been previously 
printed at Tiflis. 

To the ninth century belongs the Slavic or Slavonic version, 
made by the brothers Cyril and Methodius of Thessalonica, mission- 
aries to Bulgaria and Moravia, who rendered this great work possible 
by first reducing the Slavonic language to writing. It is generally 
regarded as a descendant of the LXX, though ancient testimony states 
that it was made, in great part, from the Latin, a statement which 
recent collation has confirmed. The text was early corrected from 
Greek MSS., and it is hence deemed of considerable critical value. 
The whole was printed in 1576, and several editions have since been 
issued from Moscow, 


OTHER ANCIENT VERSIONS 35 


The Arabic versions of several of the books of Scripture, as given 
in the Paris and London Polyglots, were made from the LXX, by 
different authors between the eighth and twelfth centuries ; and of 
Job, Chronicles, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and parts of other books, from 
the Peshitta Syriac. 

From these facts it is clear that the Targums, the Sama- 
ritan Pentateuch, the LXX, part of the Vulgate, and the 
Peshitta Syriac, are all more or less valuable for ascertaining 
the text of the original Hebrew ; but that other versions of 
the Old Testament, being made from these and not from the 
original, are of little or no critical value, except for ascertain- 
ing the text of those versions from which they were made. 


33. And, on the whole, though we may be sure that we 
have the books substantially as they were written, not a 
promise dimmed or a truth distorted, and though at least 
from the close of the first century the purity of the letter 
has been almost miraculously preserved, we must rest 
content with something short of the sacred autographs. 
The imperfections of the letter may well lead us to look 
to the spirit, from the words to the Word, that abides 
unshaken and grows in meaning through the ages, 


CHAPTER III 


THE NEW TESTAMENT 


The Canon 


34. General view.—The remarks on Canonicityin Chapter 
II apply also to the New Testament. The facts which 
prove the several books to belong to the accredited catalogue 
of sacred writings are accessible, simple, and decisive. To 
take the literary ground alone—there is the same kind of 
evidence that the books of the New Testament are of apos- 
tolie origin as that the works of Xenophon, Cicero, or 
Plutarch proceeded from the authors whose names they 
bear. Added to this, the great religious interest and im- 


portance of these books would prevent their reception on* 


insufficient grounds, while watchful adversaries would be 
alert to mark any inadequacy in the evidence. Avpostolicity 
was the great test ; and this being established, there was no 
longer any question as to recognition. 


The Christian Consciousness.—Nor was this all. The 
appeal of the writings was to the Christian consciousness. 
The Holy Spirit, given to the Church, quickened holy 
instincts, aided discernment between the genuine and the 
spurious, and thus led to gradual, harmonious, and in the 
end unanimous conclusions. There was in the Church what 
a modern divine has happily termed an ‘inspiration of 
selection.’ 

The appeal, it should be especially noted, was to the 
Church universal. The phrase ‘Church authority,’ as 
sometimes used, is misleading. It is very remarkable 
that no General Council from the earliest times undertook 


THE CANON 37 


to define the Canon. The Scriptures of the New Testament 
were their own attestation. Certain books which claimed 
apostolic authority, and were, in some quarters, accepted for 
a time, gradually disappeared from the list, and survive only 
as ‘apocryphal’; in contrast, which every reader can now 
discern, with those that are Divine. 

For, in addition to the external evidence, the intrinsic 
grounds on which the recognition of the Church was either 
granted or refused are open to ourselves. Between the 
canonical books and even the best of the uncanonical, there 
is a distinction which impressively reveals the limits of the 
unaided Christian intellect and imagination*. The differ- 
ence has been aptly illustrated by the contrast of modern 
and ancient cities. The New Testament is not like the 
modern towns, with wide suburbs reaching out into the 
open country, so that the exact boundaries are indiscernible; 
but rather resembles some city of ancient times, surrounded 
by walls and bulwarks, well defined and separate from the 
waste beyond. 


35. Gradual formation of the Canon.—How long a 
time elapsed before the formation of a Canon is quite un- 
known. The books at first appeared separately, in different 
localities, and at intervals of time; were treasured by 
individual churches as apostolic; and read, probably with 
other writings, in the Christian assemblies. The next step 
was to classify them in groups—the Gospels forming one 
division, the Pauline Epistles another; while the Acts and 
General Epistles were a section by themselves. To these 
the Apocalypse was added; and by the end of the second 
century the collection was practically complete ; the genuine- 


® See the New Testament Apocrypha, edited by B. H. Cowper. The 
once well-known William Hone, in his sceptical days, produced 
a selection from these works to exhibit their parallel with the New 
Testament writings. He succeeded only in proving the wonderful 
contrast between the two. 





38 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


ness of some books, however, remaining an open question 
until a later period. 

We begin with the Gospels. 

In the early Church many writings were extant professing 
to give an account of the life and character of our Lord. 
From Lu 1!-? we learn that the task had been taken in hand 
by writers who set themselves to transcribe the primitive 
oral gospel. But at an early period the Four Gospels 
absorbed and superseded these several accounts, being uni- 
versally recognized by the Church as authoritative on the 
ground of their apostolicity ; the Gospels of Mark and Luke 
being respectively penned under the influence of Peter and 
Paul. The consideration of their origin belongs to another 
part of this work. Suffice it here to say that the chain of 
testimony is complete. The Apostolic Fathers quote them, 
although without mentioning their authorship, in such 
a way as to show that their authority in the Church was 
fully recognized*. Tatian the Assyrian, pupil of Justin 
Martyr, combined the Four Gospels into one ‘Harmony.’ 
Irenzeus, who in his early days had known Polyearp, disciple 
of the Apostle John, distinctly recognizes the ‘holy qua- 
ternion’ of writers, giving mystic explanations of the number 
Four, which in their very absurdity testify to the reception 
of these books as Divine. Subsequent attestations come 
from every part of the Church: Tertullian in Africa, 
Athanasius in Alexandria, Cyril in Jerusalem, and many 
others, with one voice witnessing to these Four and to no 
others, as the accepted evangelic narratives. And to these 
the Book of Acts was added, by general consent, as the 
second part of Luke. These books then, we conelude, were 
written by Apostles, to whom our Saviour specially promised 


® The Apostolic Fathers: Clement of Rome, ‘ Barnabas,’ Polycarp, 
Ignatius, Hermas (The Shepherd), the Didaché. ‘ Barnabas’ was the first 
to use the formula ‘ it is written’ (yéypantaz) in citing the words of our 
Lord (Mt 22"). 


THE CANON 39 


His Spirit that He might guide them into all truth, bring to 
their remembrance whatever He Himself had told them, and 
qualify them to give His gospel to the world 4. 

36. So of the Epistles of Paul. There are thirteen of 
them which bearhisname. Generally he wrote by an amanu- 
ensis, who would become a witness of the genuineness of 
his writings: in these instances he added his subscription 
and salutation®. His Epistles were sent by private mes- 
sengers?, Nine were addressed to public bodies. The 
earliest of them he commanded to be read in the public 
assembly ; the second, and indeed all the rest, were read in 
public too®; and we know from Ignatius, Polycarp, and 
Clement, that his Epistles were regarded as inspired Scrip- 
ture, and read with. the Law and Prophets of the Old 
Testament and the Gospels of the New’ A yet earlier 
testimony is given in 2 Pet 3'°-1©, where a name is applied 
to them (‘Scriptures’) which, though occurring fifty times in 
the New Testament, is in no other instance applied to any 
other than the canonical books of the Old Testament. 


37. The remaining Books.—aAll the parts of the New 
Testament mentioned thus far were recognized as apostolic 
at latest by the close of the second century ; as were also 
i Peter and 1 John. The remaining books of the New 
Testament were called Antilegomena, or, from their forming 
a part of the Canon only after a second revision, the 
Deutero-Canonical. That position in the Canon they gained 
gradually (at the beginning of the fourth century they 
were received by most of the churches, and at the end of 
that century they were received by all. \ 


* See further The Early Witness to the Four Gospels (‘ Present Day Tracts,’ 
R.T.S.,; No. 78), by S. Walter Green, M.A. 

OR Ck ¢ x Cor 162 Col 418, 

4 Ro 16! Eph 67! Phil 2° Col 47. 

¢ 2 Cor 18 1 Th 57" 2 Th a® 3° Col 416. 

£ Ign. To Eph ch, 12; Polyc. To Phil 3!" Clem. To Cor ch. 47. 


40 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


The special evidence of each book will be given later 
The point to be noticed is that the doubts which existed 
had reference not to the canonicity of the writings of James, 
Cephas, John, and Jude, but to the question whether the 
writings bearing their names were really written by them. 
Nor can these doubts excite surprise. The subject was one 
of deep interest. Many spurious compositions were abroad 
under the names of these very Apostles%. Apostolic teach- 
ing might be quoted in defence of caution», The internal 
evidence of the authorship of these Epistles is peculiar; the 
Epistle to the Hebrews, for example, is without the author’s 
name, and differs in style from the Epistles of Paul: the 
style of 2 Peter differs in the same way from the style of 
the first Epistle. In James and Jude the authors are de- 
seribed not as Apostles but as ‘servants’ of Christ, while in 
2and 3 John the writer describes himself as a presbyter or 
elder, not as an Apostle. Jude also refers to stories which 
are contained in apocryphal writings, All these Epistles 
moreover were addressed either to Christians generally or 
to private persons, not to specified churches. No body of 
men, therefore, was interested in preserving them, and 
external evidence in their favour was necessarily scanty. 
All these causes of doubt did operate, as we know. In the 
end there was universal conviction; and the very doubts 
which deferred the reception of a small portion of Scripture 
in certain parts of the early Church now serve to confirm 
our faith in the rest. 


38. Early Catalogues.— Between the years a. D. 200 and 
A.D. 400 fifteen or sixteen catalogues of the New Testament 
books were published. Their importance, as well as their 
variety and independence, is shown in the following brief 
enumeration © :— 

® Westcott On the Canon 512-520. > 2Th 2! 1 Jn 4). 


° For further details, see Charteris, Canonicity (Kirchhofer's Quellen- 
sammlung), Westcott On the Canon of the New Testament, and the older 


THE CANON 41 


1. The Muratorian Fragment, the earliest: Latin MS., discovered by 
Muratori in the Ambrosian Library, Milan, 1740. Date, near the close 
of the second century (speaks of Pope Pius I [d. 157] as very recent). 
Formerly attributed to Caius the Presbyter, brother to Pius (‘ likely,’ 
Salmon ; ‘fictitiously,’ Harnack) ; Bishop Lightfoot conjectures Hippo- 
lytus. The fragment, evidently translated from the Greek, begins 
with Luke, as the ‘third Gospel,’ implying the other two, and includes 
all the New Testament books excepting Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and 
2 and 3 John. 

2. Clement of Alexandria (in Eusebius), beginning of the third 
century: first uses the distinction ‘the Gospel’ and ‘the Apostle,’ 
recognizes fourteen Epistles of Paul (including Hebrews), omits James, 
2 Peter, 3 John: includes some extra-canonical books, 

3. Origen (in Eusebius), d. 253, all, excepting James and Jude, to 
which, however, he refers elsewhere. 

4. Eusebius Pamphilus, 315, all ; only that he specifies James, Jude, 
2 Peier, 2 and 3 John, with the Apoca’ypse, as ‘disputed’ by some. 

5. Athanasius, 315, all. He speaks of the Shepherd of Hermas as 
useful, but not canonical ; of others as spurious. 

6. Cyril of Jerusalem, 340, all but the Apocalypse. The ‘ disputed’ 
books mentioned by Eusebius are now generally received. 

7. Laodicene Council, 364, all, excepting Apocalypse. 

8. Epiphanius of Salamis, 370, all. 

9. Gregory Nazianzen, 375, all but the Apocalypse. His list is in 
metrical form, as an aid to memory. 

10. Amphilochius of Iconium, c. 380, includes all, but says that 
the majority exclude the Apocalypse. Also in metrical form. 

11. Philastrius of Brescia, c. 380, all. He mentions thirteen Epistles 
of Paul, and the Epistle to the Hebrews, of which some, he says, doubt 
if it is his, while others deny the Johannine authorship of the Gospel 
and Apocalypse. 

12. The Synod of Carthage, 397, at which Augustine was present, 
includes all, mentioning the books specifically. The Acts of this Synod 
are of great value by way of testimony. 

13. Jerome, c. 382, includes all: only says that Hebrews is placed by 
many outside the Pauline circle. 

14. Rufinus of Aquileia, c. 390, includes all, 

15. Augustine, d. 430, includes and mentions all, referring to 
Hebrews as Pauline. 

16. Chrysostom, d. 407, in a ‘Synopsis’ attributed to him, but on 


work by Jeremiah Jones, 1726, A New and Full Method of Settling the 
Canonical Authority of the New Testament. 


42 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


doubtful authority, enumerates fourteen Epistles of Paul, four Gospels, 
the Acts, and three Catholic Epistles, omitting the remainder. 


The wide diffusion of the above testimony is worthy of note :— 
Palestine, Syria, and Cyprus, Nos. 4, 7, 8, 16 
Asia Minor, 6, 9, 10 | creck 
Alexandria, 2, 3, 5 
N. Africa, 12, 15 Lakin 
Italy, 1, 11, 13, 14 

After a.D. 400 there is no longer any room for doubt respecting the 

New Testament Canon. 


The Language of the New Testament 


39. Hellenistic Greek.—The sixteenth century witnessed 
a singular discussion. Erasmus, after Laurentius Valla, 
having affirmed that the Greek of the New Testament was 
corrupted with Hebraisms, both of words and idioms, was 
opposed with great vehemence by H. Stephens, who, in his 
Preface to the New Testament (a. p. 1546), undertook to 
prove that the Greek of the inspired writers was pure and 
idiomatic. A long controversy springing out of these 
assertions, the respective parties were called Purists and 
Hellenists, or Hebraists. The topic was deemed important 
on several grounds. Inspired writers, it was argued, must 
employ pure and ‘perfect’ diction. It was replied that a 
Hebraistic tincture in the language was an evidence of 
genuineness. Facts also were conclusive on that side, and 
the controversy is now practically forgotten. 

The ‘ perfection ’ of inspired composition is clearly not so 
much classic purity as intelligibleness and adaptation to 
its proper end. The Greek of Scripture was written by 
Hellenists, i.e. by Jews who spoke Greek, whose modes 
of thought were formed on Hebrew originals, and whose 
minds were steeped in the language of the Septuagint 
Version of the Jewish Scriptures. Hence an instructive 
rule of interpretation. A prime source of New Testament 
interpretation is the Greek Old Testament ; and we must 


THE LANGUAGE | 43 


gather thence, as far as possible, the meaning and illustra- 
tions of its terms. 


40. The Greek tongue is itself a mixture of dialects. 
The Hellenes, or Greeks, consisted originally of several tribes, 
of whom two, the Dorians and Ionians, became chief. 

The Doric dialect was first in time and in influence: it 
is rough and broad-sounding. Among its chief writers 
are Pindar, Sappho, Theocritus, and Bion. The Ionic was 
second in time. It is soft and smooth, was spoken at first 
in Attica, and then, as the Ionians migrated to Asia Minor, 
in that district. Among its authors are Herodotus and 
Anacreon. 

The Attic dialect was formed after the Ionians left Attica, 
and occupies in quality a middle place between the Ionic 
and Doric. The chief Greek authors wrote in this dialect : 
Thucydides, Plato, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Aischylus, 
Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. 

After the freedom of Greece was destroyed by Philip of 
Macedon, these dialects became gradually blended, and the 
Hellenic or ‘common dialect’ was formed, of which the base 
was Attic. The conquests of Alexander, and the resulting 
fusion of different peoples, led to further modifications in 
dialect. Macedonian and Alexandrian idioms became common 
in Greece, and especially in Egypt and the Kast. 

At Alexandria many Jews resided. There the Septuagint 
was written, and as the writers were Jews, the Alexandrian 
Greek which they spoke was modified so as to embody the 
thoughts and idioms of the Hebrew. And this is the 
language of the New Testament. It is Hellenistic, or more 
properly, Hebrew-Greek: the common dialect ( «own), 
with a mixture of others, and the whole modified by Jews 
of Alexandria and Palestine. Hence words and phrases 
from foreign sources, Aramaic, Latin, Persian, Egyptian: 
hence words peculiar in their orthography or form, in their 


44 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


inflexion or gender: hence words common to the ancient 
dialects, but not usual in the Hellenic, and hence also words 
and phrases in senses peculiarly Jewish or Christian. 


Aramaic expressions may be seen, Mk 14% (abba), Ac 1 (field of 
blood), Mk 37 (sons of thunder), Mt 5% (vain, foolish). Latin words, 
Mt 538 1029 1725 1828 2653 2777-65 Mk 15°° Lu 19?’ Jn 2% Ac 197; and 
phrases, Mt 12% Mk 15'° Lu 125° Ac 17°; Persian expressions, Mt 2‘ 
5‘! 27°? Mk 157! Lu 23° Ac 8”? (paradise, a garden of beautiful trees) ; 
Egyptian expressions, Mt 27°” Lu 161°. 

The lesson taught by these facts is that while we need a knowledge 
of Greek generally in order to read the New Testament, we need, in 
order to understand it, a knowledge of New Testament Greek, and of 
the Septuagint Version. So essential is this knowledge, that a merely 
English reader, with only his English Bible, especially in the Revised 
Version, may perhaps understand the New Testament better than the. 
scholar who brings to the investigation of a particular pena only 
classical acquisitions. 

Among aids to the study of New Testament Greek special mention 
may be made of the Grammars by Winer (ed. Moulton) and Blass ; 
the Lexicons of Grimm (ed. Thayer) and of Cremer; and of the Con- 
cordances, to the Septuagint by Hatch and Redpath, to the New 
Testament by Moulton and Geden. To these may be added Hatch’s 
Essays in Biblical Greek; while ‘the less advanced student may use 
the Handbook to the Grammar of the Greek Testament by S. G. Green, 
the Language of the New Testament and the Writers of the New Testament 
by W. H. Simcox. 


Manuscripts 


41. The earliest MSS. of the New Testament books were 
no doubt written on papyrus, a fragile material, soon 
ruined by handling, and preserved only under exceptional 
conditions in a dry climate, like that of Egypt. 


Recent excavations in Egypt have been extraordinarily fruitful in the 
discovery of papyrus fragments. Professor Weissmann, of Heidelberg, 
writes: ‘The contents of these non-literary writings (i.e. leases, con- 
tracts, letters, school-exercises, &c.) are as manifold in their variety 
as life itself. Those in Greek, numbering many thousands, cover 
a period of about a thousand years. The oldest go back to the early 
Ptolemies, and thus to the third century B.c. ; there are others that 
bring us far down into Byzantine times, The whole shifting scene of 


MANUSCRIPTS 45 


Greek and Roman history in Egypt during this long interval passes 
in these leaves before our eyes®*.’ 

Other MSS. on papyrus, belonging to the first century a.p., have 
been discovered in the course of Egyptian exploration. Among these 
Dr. Kenyon mentions a beautiful copy of the third book of the Odyssey, 
three orations of Hyperides, an oration of Isocrates, and the famous 
copy of Aristotle’s Polity of the Athenians. These are all in the British 
Museum, and in their different styles of penmanship, varying from 
that of a professional scribe to that of common everyday writing, well 
illustrate what the lost autographs of the Evangelists and Apostles 
must have been. 

A few scraps from papyrus copies of the Gospels and 
Epistles have been found in the vast store of MSS. brought 
from Egypt. None of these fragments are earlier than the 
third century. A leaf from Matthew, 11 °-!?-14—20 and 
a somewhat larger transcript from John, 179~31.33~41 aoll-17, 
19-25, were found by Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt at Oxyrhyn- 
chus, 120 miles south of Cairo. The former is now in the 
Library of the Pennsylvania University, the latter in 
the British Museum. To the same explorers we owe also the 
discoveries in 1897 and 1903 of the Logia, or Sayings of our 
Lord, written probably about a. p. 200. Dr. Kenyon gives 
a list of five further extracts from the Gospels and four 
from the Epistles, among the papyri from Egypt, belonging 
to the fourth and fifth centuries. It is very probable that 
other fragments may yet be brought to light. Those already 
discovered confirm the New Testament text, especially that 
of the earliest MSS. 

In the fourth century the use of vellum instead of 
papyrus for important MSS. gave to them for the first time 
a permanent form; while the conversion of Constantine 
led to the careful and even sumptuous production of the 
Christian writings. The codex¢ instead of the roll form 

* Encyclopedia Biblica, vol. iii, art. Papyri. 

> See transcript, facsimile and rendering of both, published for the 


Egypt Exploration Fund (Oxford University Press, 1897 and 1¢04). 
° Codex, originally caudex, a tablet of wood, generally covered with 


‘ 
1 


46 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


was also now adopted, so that the New Testament Scriptures 
could for the first time be conveniently united in a single 
volume. Eusebius states in his Life of Constantine that the 
Emperor ordered fifty copies of the Scriptures on vellum 
for the churches in his new capital. Two of these have 
perhaps survived in Codices B and x. 

When new vellum was too costly for the transcriber, the 
writing was often washed or scraped away so as to admit 
the substitution of another work, hence called a ‘codex 
rescriptus’ or ‘palimpsest’ (from the Greek zaAijapyortos, 
‘seraped again’). It sometimes happened that the erasure 
was incomplete, or the ink of the original proved un- 
expectedly durable, so that the old writing reappeared. See 
Codex C, below. 

The MSS. of the New Testament are divided into two 
classes, uncial, or written in capital (majuscule) letters, 
and cursive, or written in small running-hand (minuscule) 
letters. Generally speaking, the former are the earlier, 
although, as some uncials are as late as the tenth century, 
while some cursives are as early as the ninth, the two to 
some extent overlap in date. 

A question of much interest is how to ascertain the age 
ofa MS. In reply, the following points may be especially 
noted. 


42. In the earliest times the New Testament was divided 
into three parts: the Gospels (rd evayyeAwov), the Epistles 
and Acts (76 dzocroduxdv), and the Revelation (7 droxdAvis). 
In the third century the Gospels were divided into two 


wax and written on with an iron needle called a stylus (hence the word 
style applied to literary composition). See Is 8! go’ Hab 2? Lu 1®. 
The codices, strung together by a cord passed through holes in the 
upper left-hand corner, were in the form of a modern book, in contrast 
with the volwmina or rolls. Hence the name was given to MSS. of 
any material in book form. As the tablets were much used for legal 
purposes, a system of laws was called a code, 


MANUSCRIPTS 47 


kinds of chapters, the longer called ritAo., or breves; the 
shorter xefddaa, or capitula. The latter were originally 
introduced by Ammonius, and were thence called Ammonian 
sections. In the fourth century they were in common use 
in the Gospels, and to these sections Eusebius adapted his 
tables of references, called from him the Eusebian Canons 


(A. D. 315-340). 

Further notes of date.—In the year 459 Euthalius, a deacon of 
Alexandria, published an edition of the Epistles of Paul, divided into 
xepadaia, with summaries of their contents. In 490 he similarly 
divided the Acts and the Catholic Epistles. He himself states also 
that he introduced accents into MSS. copied under his supervision 
—a custom, however, which did not become common till the eighth 
century. He also added to the Pauline Epistles the subscriptions 
(several of them erroneous) which are still found in the English version. 
To make MSS. more legible, Euthalius further divided them into lines, 
called oriyor, consisting in some instances of as many letters as could 
be placed in the width of a page, and in others of as many words as 
could be read uninterruptedly. This style of writing soon became 
common. In the eighth century, however, the lines ceased to be 
written separately, and were indicated only by dots. In the same 
century other marks of punctuation were introduced, and later still 
the stichometrical dots were omitted. 

About the same time the letters began to be compressed and slightly 
inclined. In the eighth century these changes were still more 
marked ; in the ninth the note of interrogation and the comma were 
introduced ; and in the tenth the uncial style of writing had been 
nearly superseded by the cursive. It may be added that our modern 
division into chapters is attributed to Stephen Langton (d. 1228), and 
that the verses are due to Robert Stephens, 1551. 

From thes¢ facts various rules are deduced :— 

A MS, in cursive character is not older than the tenth century, or 
in some rare instances, the ninth. 

A MS. with compressed or inclined uncials, or with notes of interro- 
gation or commas, is not older than the ninth century. 

A MS. systematically punctuated, or marking the arixor,is not older 
than the eighth century. 

A MS. in uncial letters, divided into lines or accented, or with the 
Euthalian divisions or titles or subscriptions, is not older than the 
fifth century. 

A MS. with Eusebian canons is not older than the fourth century. 

These rules lead (it will be observed) to negative conclusions only. 


48 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


When the facts are applied to ascertain positive results, much minute 
inquiry and criticism is necessary, demanding the trained skill of the 
palzographist. Only results can now be given, but the dates assigned 
are accepted by the great body of scholars. 


43. The more important MSS. of each class are the 
following, enumerated here because all readers of the New 
Testament ought to be familiar with at least the names, 
dates, and comparative value of the chief examples of the 
sacred text. Detailed lists will be found in Prebendary 
Scrivener’s Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament ; 
and, in a more succinct form, in the English translation 
of Dr. Eberhard Nestle’s Introduction to the Textual Criticism 
of the Greek New Testament. Dr. Nestle writes: ‘For no 
literary production of antiquity is there such a wealth of 
manuscripts as for the New Testament. Our classical 
scholars would rejoice were they as fortunate with Homer 
or Sophocles, Plato or Aristotle, Cicero or Tacitus, as Bible 
students are with their New Testament. The oldest com- 
plete manuscripts of Homer that we have date from the 
thirteenth century a.p., and only separate papyrus frag- 
ments go back to the Alexandrian age. All that is extant 
of Sophocles we owe to a single MS., dating from the eighth 
or ninth century, in the Laurentian Library at Florence. 
But of the New Testament 3,829 MSS. have been catalogued 
to the present time.’ 

It will be noted, however, that only a very few of the | 
MSS. as here enumerated contain the whole of the New 
Testament. Every fragment is counted as a MS. 


THe CuieF UncrtAL MANUSCRIPTS. 
Fourth to the Tenth Century. 


x Aleph, Sinaiticus.— Discovered by Tischendorf in the Convent of 
St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, 1859. Fourth century. Contains Old 
Testament (Greek) and the whole New Testament ; also the Epistle of 
Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas (part). Now at St. Petersburg. 


MANUSCRIPTS 49 


Published in 186a in four vols., fol., in facsimile type ; also at Leipsic, 
1863, 4to, 1864, 8vo, in ordinary type. 

A, Alexandrinus.—Presented to King Charles I of England by Cyril 
Luear, Patriarch of Constantinople, 1627. Middle or end of the 
fifth century. Contains the New and Old Testament (Greek) from 
Mt 25° with omissions (Jn 6°°—852 2 Cor 4'%—12§), also the First 
Epistle of Clement of Rome and a small portion of the Second 
(a homily). Inthe British Museum. Published by Woide, 1786; by 
the Trustees of the British Museum, photographie facsimile, 1879; 
and in ordinary type, 1860 (Cowper), 1864 (Hansell). 

B, Vaticanus.—Placed in the Vatican Library, Rome, by Pope 
Nicolas V (1447-55). Fourth century. Contains the Old Testament 
in Greek (with omissions), and the New complete down to Heb 9": 
includes the General Epistles, but wants the Pastoral Epistles, Phile- 
mon, and the Apocalypse. Published by Cardinal Mai, in five folio 
vols., 1857; in facsimile type by order of Pius IX, 1872; and photo- 
graphed in 1889. An edition was published in ordinary type by 
Tischendorf (1867) which follows the MS. line by line. 


C, Ephraemi.—A palimpsest, several works of Ephraem the Syrian 
having been copied in the twelfth century over the original text. 
Happily, the ink of the later scribe proved less durable than that of 
the earlier. Written in the fifth century, probably in Egypt. Con- 
tains fragments of the Old Testament, and all the books of the New 
Testament (with large omissions), excepting 2 Thessalonians and 
2 John. In the National Library at Paris. Published, so far as 
decipherable, by Tischendorf, 1843. 

D, Bezw.—Greek and Latin, in parallel columns. Discovered in 
the Monastery of Ivenzeus at Lyons, and presented to the University 
of Cambridge, 1581, by Theodore Beza. Written, probably, near the 
beginning of the sixth century. Contains (with omissions) the Gospels 
and Acts. Remarkable for its deviations from the ordinary text, and 
for additions. In the Cambridge University Library. Published in 
facsimile type by Kipling, 1793, and in photographic facsimile in 1899 ; 
also by Dr. Scrivener, in ordinary type, 1864. 
~ D,, Claromontanus.—Discovered at Clermont, near Beauvais, 
whence its name. Written in the sixth century. Like the Codex 
Beze, it is in Greek and Latin, and supplements that MS. also by con- 
taining the Pauline Epistles (with omissions) and Epistle to Hebrews. 
It has no other New Testament books. The work of several later 
scribes is discernible in the MS. In the National Library at Paris, 
Published by Tischendorf, 1852. 

These six MSS. exhaust the list of first-class uncials. Some others, 
however, though partial and incomplete, are of great value, and afford 


E 


50 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


suggestive readings. To give a complete list would be beyond the 
scope of the present work. Mention should, however, be made of the 
Copex Basittensis (E), seventh or eighth century, brought to Basel in 
1431 by Cardinal J. B. Ragusio, probably from Constantinople. It 
contains nearly the whole of the Gospels. The Copex Reerus (L), 
eighth century; in the National Library at Paris. It also contains 
the Gospels, with omissions, and is valuable as containing the double 
conclusion of Mark’s Gospel. Another MS. of the eighth century, 
Copex Zacyntuius (=), is a palimpsest from Zante, presented by 
General Macaulay to the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1821 
and now in the Society’s Library in London. It contains the greater 
part of Luke’s Gospel, and is remarkable as the earliest MS. with 
a Commentary. <A MS. in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (IP), of the 
year 844, containing the greater part of the Gospels, and one in the 
Vatican Library, Rome (S), of 949, are noteworthy as the earliest 
dated MSS. in existence. Finally, the Copex Averensis in Trinity 
College, Cambridge (F), of the ninth century, from the Monastery of 
Augia Dives (now Reichenau) on Lake Constance, contains the greater 
part of the Pauline Epistles, accompanied by a Latin Version. It was 
published under the editorship of Dr. Scrivener at Cambridge, 1859. 


In all, the number of Uncial Manuscripts, of the whole 
or part of the Greek Testament now known, is given® as 
follows :— 

Gospels . . «~ TOE 
Acts and Catholic Epistles es 


Pauline Epistles . . . .. 27 
Apocalypses |). ‘so ee 6 





156 


44, The Chief Cursive Manuscripts.—A later style of 
writing, ‘smaller and more manageable,’ was required as 
the demand for New Testament MSS. became more exacting. 
The need was met by the introduction into the seriptorium 
of the running or ‘cursive’ handwriting already prevalent 
in commercial and other correspondence. In this, ‘minuscule’ 
forms of the letters were employed in contrast with the 





*® Kenyon’s Handbook to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament. 
Dr. Scrivener and Dr. Nestle give 127 as the total. ‘The difference,’ 
says Dr. Kenyon, ‘is due mainly to an increase in the smaller 
fragments, 


MANUSCRIPTS 51 


‘majuscule’ or capitals of the older manuscripts. Strictly 
speaking, the word ‘ minuscule’ applies to the smaller form 
of the letters, ‘cursive’ to their being joined together ; but, as 
the two generally concurred, the terms are often employed 
interchangeably. For about two centuries the uncial and 
the cursive styles were both used, but by degrees the latter 
prevailed ; and it is in this form that the great majority of 
New Testament MSS. have come down to modern times, 
beginning with the ninth century and ending about the 
time of the invention of printing. Paper was employed 
as well: as vellum, and these greatly vary in style and 
durability. The cursives are noted by Arabic numerals, in 
separate lists for the Gospels (Evv.), the Acts and General 
Epistles (Acts), the Pauline Epistles (Paul.), and the Reve- 
lation (Apoc.). Manuscripts containing more than one 
division, after a certain point, have a separate number for 
each section (e. g. a MS. of the entire New Testament in the 
British Museum is ‘ Evan.584, Acts 228, Paul.269, Apoe. 97°’), 
an inconvenient method of enumeration, which modern 
editors are striving as far as possible to simplify. In all, 
the latest list of known cursives gives :— 





Gospels . . 1420 
Acts and Catholic Epistles 450 
Pauline Epistles . . 520 © 
Aypealypse . . = =) 4) 204 
2584 





But, since many MSS. contain more than one section, the 
list of separate copies is reduced to 1,825. The first accurate 
list, that of Griesbach, gives 236. Scholtz enumerates 469 
of the Gospels, 192 of the Acts and Catholic Epistles, 246 
of the Pauline Epistles, and 88 of the Apocalypse, a grand 
total of 995. The difference between this and the foregoing 
number shows the progress in research which has been 
made during the past three-quarters of a century, 
= Kenyon, after Dr. Gregory. 
E2 


52 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


For a detailed list of the cursives the student is referred to 
Dr. Serivener’s Introduction. Their testimony to the text is naturally 
less valuable than that of the uncials; and as in many cases they are 
but copies of the same examples, or of one another, they cannot always 
be regarded as independent authorities. But on the other hand it must 
be remembered that, in the words of Dr. Nestle, ‘the text of a late 
manuscript may be derived from a very early and good source through 
comparatively few intermediaries,’ and that ‘it is possible to recon- 
struct a lost original by means of a comparison of several witnesses.’ 
This principle renders the collation of the minuscules an important 
part of the textual critic’s labours, while adding not a little to the 
difficulty of the task. 


45. Lectionaries.—Another source of evidence is in the 
Lectionaries, or collections of the Gospels and Epistles for 
reading in the Greek Church. These are naturally executed 
with special care, and in large clear characters. For the 
passages contained in them no more valuabie testimony 
of a similar date exists. Of the Evangelistaria, or Lessons 
from the Gospels, more than a thousand copies are known 
to exist, and of the Prarapostoli, or Lessons from the 
Acts and Epistles, about three hundred. Until after a 
further examination of these authorities, as well as of the 
hitherto uncollated minuscules, it can hardly be said that 
finality in determining the original text of the New Testa- 
ment has been reached 4, 


Ancient Versions 


46. The Peshitta Syriac version has already been de- 
scribed in connexion with the Old Testament®. Of the 
New, it contains the whole, excepting 2 Peter, 2 and 3 
John, Jude, and Apocalypse. Considerable addition has been 
made in recent years to our knowledge of the Syriac New 
Testament. In the year 1842, among the MSS. brought to 


* There is an interesting Table of these Lessons in Scrivener 
pp. 78-86. ? 
> See § 31. 


ANCIENT VERSIONS 53 


the British Museum from the Syrian monastery in the 
Nitrian Desert, was an incomplete version of the Gospels 
in a MS. of the fifth century, subsequently edited and 
published by the Rev. Dr. W. Cureton, then Assistant 
Keeper of MSS. in the Museum. The ‘Curetonian Syriac,’ 
as it is called, differs in many respects from the Peshitta, 
and is believed by the most competent scholars to contain 
a yet earlier form of the text. Another Syriac MS. of the 
Gospels, also incomplete, a palimpsest, was discovered in 
1892, at the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, 
by the sisters Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Gibson, of Cambridge. 
In 1894 it was edited by the discoverers and Professor 
Rendel Harris. This ‘Sinaitic’ text closely resembles the 
Curetonian, and is believed to be prior in date. Both are 
of much interest and critical value. Together they form 
the ‘ Old Syriac’ text. 

Among Syriac versions may also be placed the Diates- 
saron® of Tatian, a pupil of Justin Martyr—a Harmony 
of the Gospels, with the texts interwoven into one narrative, 
dating from about a. p. 170, and ‘the earliest Life of Christ 
ever compiled from the original narratives.’ Tatian’s own 
work is lost, but an Arabic translation has been preserved, 
two copies of which are in the Vatican Library. There is 
also a Commentary upon the Diatessaron by Ephraem the re- 
nowned Syrian Father, which has survived in an Armenian 
translation, rendered into Latin and published by Moesinger 
at Venice, 1876. This Commentary contains large extracts 
from Tatian’s compilation, quoted verbatim, and, together with 
the Arabic, has rendered the work accessible to scholars, 
-It is of unique value, not only in attesting the early origin 
and reception of the Four Gospels, but in throwing light 
upon the original text. 

Another translation of the New Testament into Syriac 
was made by Philoxenus of Hierapolis (Mabug) in Eastern 


® 6a Tecodpwr, ‘ by (means of) four,’ i.e. the Four Evangelists. 


a ng eho 


54 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


Syria, 508 a.p., a century after which date it was edited 
by Thomas of Harkel, a successor of Philoxenus in the see. 
This Philoxenian-Harclean version, as it is called, contains 
the whole of the New Testament excepting the Apocalypse. 
A MS. of this version, preserved in New College, Oxford, 
belonged to the martyr Ridley. The extreme literalness of 
the translation, often following the Greek to the violation 
of the Syriac idiom, renders it especially useful to textual 
critics. 

Yet another version, which has come down to us chiefly 
in the form of Lectionaries, or selected passages for public 
reading, is called the Palestinian or the ‘Jerusalem’ copy. 
Fragments have been discovered in various places, one of 
the most important by Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Gibson in the 
Sinaitic monastery. Its date is still under discussion. 

An Armenian version, closely connected with the older 
Syriac, and belonging probably to the end of the fourth 
century, contains some interesting features, but as yet has 
been imperfectly examined. A copy of the tenth century 
contains the last twelve verses of Mark’s Gospel, with 
a heading to the effect that they are by ‘Ariston the 
elder.’ 

In the Egyptian or Coptic family of dialects the versions 
in Memphitic, sometimes called Bohairie (Lower Egypt), and 
the Thebaic or Sahidic (Upper Egypt) are the principal. In 
Abyssinia, the Ethiopic translation was made when Chris- 
tianity became the national religion, about the end of the 
fifth century, and is still current. This version is included 
in Walton’s Polyglot, but is too little known to haye become 
as yet of critical service. 

47. For the Old Latin and the Vulgate versions, see § 30. 
The Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs*, known (by the mention 

® Scilla, a place in that part of Numidia which belonged to Procon- 


sular Africa. The translation is by Dean Armitage Robinson, See 
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Clark) : additional volume, 1897. 


EARLY QUOTATIONS — 5D 


of Roman Consuls) to belong to the year a. pv. 180, is an 
evidence of the value already attached to the old Latin 
Scriptures. ‘ What,’ said the proconsul, ‘are the things in 
your chest?’ Speratus replied, ‘Books and Epistles of 
Paul, a just man.’ Existing MSS. of this version go back 
to the fourth century a.p. Among these, the C. Bobiensis 
at Turin, formerly at the Irish monastery at Bobbio, founded 
by Columban, is especially interesting, as having, according 
to probable tradition, belonged to the founder himself. It 
contains about half of Mark’s Gospel and fifteen chapters 
of Matthew's. Of the Vulgate New Testament, the whole 
or part, manuscripts are exceedingly numerous, dating 
from the sixth century to the invention of printing. One 
of the earliest and most important copies (C. Fuldensis, 
541-6 A.D.) contains the Four Gospels in a continuous 
narrative, on Tatian’s plan. It is noteworthy that the first 
printed book (by Gutenberg and Schoeffer, about 1452) was 
the superb folio edition of the Old and New Testaments 
in the Vulgate version, the first example of a complete book 
printed with movable types. 

Of the Gothic version by Ulphilas, noted § 32, the most 
celebrated MS. is the C. Argenteus of the Four Gospels, 
written in silver letters, but unfortunately imperfect. It 
is the choicest treasure in the library of Upsal, Sweden. 


The above list comprises all the important versions quoted 
in critical editions of the New Testament, and will enable 
the English reader to follow the references in such a work, 
e. g., as the Variorum Bible. 


Early Quotations 


48. A third help to the student of the New Testament 
text is afforded by the quotations in early Christian 
writers, including also the ‘heretical.’ Reference has 


56 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


already been made (§$ 34-36) to such citations as tes- 
timony to the Canon. They are of further signal im- 
portance in rectifying the text. From this importance, 
however, two circumstances somewhat detract. One is, 
that in quoting Scripture, then as now, the text is often 
given without verbal accuracy. Preachers, and even writers, 
in citing texts from memory, often fall into extraordinary 
mistakes. ‘Dr. Salmon produces a remarkable instance 
of this in Jeremy Taylor, who quotes the text “ Except 
a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of 
God” nine times, yet only twice in the same form, and 
never once correctly *.’, How much likelier such mistakes 
when the copies of Holy Scripture were far less accessible 
than at present! Very strikingly do the quotations from 
the Old Testament in the New show that verbal precision 
was not regarded as essential. The other consideration is 
that copyists of patristic writings were prone to mistake, or 
to intentional alteration—substituting, for instance, a familiar 
for an unfamiliar reading. Hence this particular kind of 
testimony must be taken with certain limitations: it is 
nevertheless valuable, as often showing the state of the text 
at the time of the writer. 

- Such quotations occur especially in Clement of Rome, 
Tatian (the Diatessaron), Justin Martyr, Irenzus, Clement of 
Alexandria, and Origen ; and as witnesses to the Latin text, 
in Tertullian and Cyprian of Carthage, Ambrose and 
Augustine. In another part of the present work, under the 
head of Evipence, a summary of this early witness to the New 
Testament is given’, The late Dean Burgon, with prodigious 
industry, collected and indexed the patristic quotations, 
Greek and Latin, his MS. being now in the British Museum. 
To take four names alone, the Dean discovered quotations 
as follows, besides many less certain references :— 


« F. G. Kenyon, Handbook, p. 207. > See § 67, 


EARLY QUOTATIONS 57 


Gospels Acts Cath. Epp. Paul's Epp. Apoc. Total. 


Justin Martyr 268 > Fite) 63 43 3 387 
Trenzeus 1038 194 23 499 65 1819 
Clement of Alex. 1017 44 297 1127 II 2406 
Origen 9231 349 399 71778 165 17922 


49. Ecclesiastical Witnesses.—The following Table 
presents at one view the principal ecclesiastical and other 
writers of the first four centuries who show, directly or 
indirectly, that they themselves, and the churches which 
they represent, accept the existing New Testament Canon as 
a whole, or in its several parts. 

The date given is in most cases that of the writer’s death (t) ; 
but sometimes it is impossible to do more than indicate the 
time about which he flourished (j7.). Sects are dated at the 
time of their greatest activity. A star (*) denotes the author 
of a Catalogue. (See list, § 38.) 


First Century. 























New Testament quoted as| Quoted as of peculiar 3 
genuine and authentic, authority, or as Divine ; Amp oe eee voor 
and as a distinct collec- expounded and com- secs, I TE 
tion. mented upon. SOUIES: 

‘Barnabas,’ Epistle, ‘ Barnabas.’ 
orsecond century (?) 

Hermas, Shepherd, Hermas. 
or second century (?) 

Clement ofRome +Ioo |} Clement. 

Ignatius. . : +115] Ignatius. 

Polyecarp. . . 167| Polycarp. 

Second Century. 

Quadratus . . /l.130 Basilides, Alex.. 122 

Eaplasse ley os “jp Log Valentinus, Rome 140 

Dionysius of Dionysius. Sethites, Egypt . 140 
Corinth . . +163 Carpocratians, 

Justin Martyr . +167 | Justin Martyr. eA ERS 0s htt 4S 

Melito® ... = c. 180 Marcion’ a.) 5 2) 150 

Hegesippus. . +175 Montanists . . 157 

Athenagoras . fl.176|/Tatian . . . . 1976|Eucratites. . . 165 

Theophilus(Ant. ) +180 | Theophilus. Colsus) sre = 17S 

*Muratorian . . ¢. 196 Theodotus 

Treneeus . . . +202] Irenzus. Artemon a 





* Fragment. Books of ‘Old Testament’ enumerated; implying a 
New. 





58 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


Third Century. 





Ammonius, | Hermogenes, 
Alex: os afi 200-35 Carthage . . +3203 
Cyprian . . . +258) Cyprian. 
*Origen . . . +253/ Origen. 
*Clement, Alex. +217 | Clement. 
Tertullian . . + 220| Tertullian. 


Minucius Felix /l. 220 | 
Dionysius, Alex. + 265 | Dionysius. 
| Hippolytus . . +250 
| Novatian, Rome + 251 
Sabellians,Egypt 258 
| Paul ofSamosata, 
Antioch . . 265 
Commodian. . fl. 270, 





Manicheans, 
Persia ..% % Syd 

Victorinus Pe- | Victorinus, 
tavensis . . fl. 290, 

| | Porphyry,Rome 305 

Lucian. . }¢.312 
Lactantius . . +325 
*Eusebius . . +340} 


Fourth Century. 


Eusebius, Nico. Jl. 335 
Apollinaris, 

Laodicea . . fl. 362 
-Laodicean Council 363 ‘Julian, Emp. . +365 
Damasus, Rome + 366 
Hilary,Poictiers + 367 ; 

Athanasius . . +373 
Ephraem Syrus +378 | Priscillianists . 378 
Athanasius . +373 Basil, Caesarea. +379) Apollimarians. 378 











*Amphilochius, 
Iconium . . c. 380! 
*Cyril, Jerus. . + 386 Cyril, Jerus. 
*Philastrius 7 
*Gregory Nazi- | Gregory Nazianzen. 


ANZON: iki ee BOL 
Didymus, Alex. + 396 
Ambrose of Milan + 397 | Ambrose. 
*Synod of Carthage 397 
*Epiphanius, Epiphanius. 
Cyprus. . +}¢.403 
*Chrysostom . +407]|Palladius . ./fi.407| Pelagians . . 41¢ 
*Jerome . . . +420| Jerome. 
*Augustine . . +430 
*Rufinus. . . ¢. 410) 





PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE TEXT ~_ 59 


This evidence is sometimes called the historical. If its 
truth be acknowledged, it places an inquirer in the position 
of a contemporary of our Lord, leaving the claims of His 
religion to be established by other evidence. 


Printed Editions of the Text 


50. These editions, for all practical purposes, date from 
the invention of printing. In preparing the Greek Testa- 
ment for the press it was necessary to consult all accessible 
MSS., as well as the other sources mentioned above. Hence 
a succession of editions down to the present time. The 
value of each obviously depends, first on the extent and 
accuracy of the editor's knowledge, and secondly on his 
ability and sagacity in deciding between various readings, 
as well as on other doubtful points. Great learning, in- 
dustry, and critical acumen have been brought to the task 
by scholars who have undertaken it, and whose names and 
work are noted below. The result of their labours alone 
is given; but in a succeeding chapter will be noted, as 
a sequel to the enumeration, the lines on which they 
proceed, with a selection of illustrative examples. 

It is remarkable that the Greek Testament did not appear in print 
until nearly seventy years after the invention of the art about 1450. 
The Hebrew Scriptures were printed by the Jews in 1488 (the Psalter 
in 1477), the Latin Vulgate by Gutenberg and Schoeffer about 1452, 
but the Greek Testament was first printed by Cardinal Ximenes in 
the Complutensian Polyglot in 1514 and published in 1521, and by 
Erasmus in 1516. 

51. The ‘Received Text’ of the Greek Testament is 
founded on the texts of Erasmus and of the Complutensian 
editors, as re-edited by R. Stephens (1550) and printed by 
the Elzevirs at Leyden*, 1624, 1633. These texts were 
printed from a very imperfect collation of MSS., most of 


* The phrase ‘Received Text’ is probably due to the Elzeyirs: 
Textum ergo habes nunc ab omnibus receptum.’ Preface to 1633 ed. 


ene ee. 


60 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


them modern; and there remained for future editors the 
need of a much more extensive examination of authorities. 

52. Critical Editions.—This important task has been 
the work of nearly two centuries and a half. It was 
initiated by Brian Watton, afterwards Bishop of Chester, 
who examined for his great Polyglot (1657) some sixteen 
MSS. in addition to those previously collated, including 
especially the Codex Alexandrinus and the Codex Bez@, com- 
paring also the renderings of the ancient versions. JoHN 
Fett, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, about twenty years 
afterwards, prepared an edition with various readings from 
about a hundred MSS.; but his labours were valuable 
chiefly as assisting Dr. Joun Mut, also of Oxford, in pre- 
paring his edition of 1707, which had occupied him for 
thirty years, and was based not only upon MSS. and 
versions, but upon quotations from the early Fathers; con- 
taining also Prolegomena, in which his method was fully 
described and vindicated. Mill’s edition having been as- 
sailed, among others by Dr. Whitby, on account of its 
departure from the traditional text, the erudite Ricuarp 
Bentiey took up the challenge and vindicated the true 
principles of textual criticism ; at the same time employing 
competent scholars still further to collate the MSS. and 
versions in foreign libraries. Bentley never completed his 
proposed edition of the New Testament, but among his assis- 
tants was J. J. Wersretn of Basle, who published his great 
work in 1751, still valuable, not only for its marginal various 
readings and its Prolegomena, but for its collection of passages 
from classical Greek authors, illustrating the words and 
phrases of the New Testament. Meanwhile a critical edition 
had been published (1734) by J. A. Beneet, of Tubingen, 
based chiefly upon Mill, and remarkable chiefly for the 
attempt to discriminate between the ‘African’ and ‘ Asiatic’ 
authorities—a suggestion which bore much fruit in succeed- 
ing researches. 


PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE TEXT 61 


The way was now prepared for an important advance, 
and in 1774 and following years J. J. Grirspacu of Jena 
carried on the work of his predecessors, achieving new 
and larger results. His principal edition, with critical 
apparatus and Prolegomena, appeared in Halle and London, 
1796, 1806. Like Bengel, Griesbach classified his authorities, 
but introduced a third division, designating them respectively 
as ‘ Alexandrian,’ ‘Constantinopolitan,’ and ‘Western’; and 
estimating the value of any particular reading not by the 
number of individual MSS., but by the ‘families’ which 
contained it. Griesbach also introduced, much more largely 
than before, the best attested variants into the text itself, 
placing others in the margin, with a system of marks by 
which he indicated his estimate of their comparative proba- 
bility. In the meantime other important additions to the 
knowledge of the subject had been made. In 1782-8 
Ch. F. Martx 1, of Moscow, published an edition, remarkable 
chiefly for containing the readings sanctioned by what was 
afterwards called the Constantinopolitan recension ; while 
Alter at Vienna (1786-7), Birch and Adler in Italy, 
Moldenhauer and Tychsen in Spain, and others elsewhere, 
were busy completing inquiries which were to supply 
Griesbach with materials for his critical apparatus. The 
results were embodied in the edition of the New Testament 
published by Andrew Birch, at Copenhagen, 1788-1807. 

The edition (1830-6) of Jonn M. A. ScHoxz, Roman 
Catholic Dean of Theology in the University of Bonn, is 
specially remarkable for its large number of MSS. col- 
lated and catalogued. He thus prepared the way for his 
successors, while his own conclusions are of little critical 
value. He adhered, for the most part, to the ‘Constantino- 
politan’ readings. Dr. Cart Lacumanny, of Berlin, on the 
other hand, mostly prefers the ‘Constantinopolitan,’ but 
the great characteristic of his epoch-making New Testament 
(1842-50) is the value which he attached to the earliest 


62 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


authorities, disregarding in great measure the division into 
families. His great aim was as far as possible to restore 
the text of the fourth century, wholly ignoring the Textus 
Receptus as an authority ; and where his authorities differed 
he had recourse, more than any of his predecessors, to the 
old Latin versions. Dr. S. P. Treceties, of Plymouth, to 
a great extent follows Lachmann, his critical edition of the 
Greek Testament being avowedly founded on the authority 
of ‘the oldest Greek manuscripts, the ancient versions down 
to the seventh century, and the citations of early ecclesi- 
astical writers, including Eusebius. No account is made 
of the Received Text, or of the great mass of cursive MSS.’ 
His beautiful edition appeared in parts from 1857 to 1872, 
and an appendix, containing Prolegomena, was published in 
1879, four years after his death, under the editorship of 
Dr. Hort and A. W. Streane. 

But by far the most important name of the period is that 
of ConsTANTINE von TISCHENDORF, whose completed work 
(eighth edition *) was published at Leipsie 1869-72, followed 
after his death in 1874 by Dr. C. R. Gregory’s Prolegomena. 
Dr. Tischendorf’s great discovery (1859) of the MS., denomi- 
nated from the monastery where it was found the Codex 
Sinaiticus (8), constituted an era in New Testament criticism, 
and naturally affected his latest edition, the preceding seven 
being superseded. His critical apparatus is wonderfully com- 
plete, and the full citation of authorities enables the student 
to form his own judgement as to the conclusions. The Textus 
Receptus is again ignored, the classification of authorities 
into families is disregarded, and the editor’s judgement 
is held by many succeeding critics to be often at fault. 
Tischendorf was greater in the collection and arrangement 
of materials, where indeed he is unrivalled, than in the 
forming of conclusions. Not the least important part of 

* The date of the earlier editions were 1841, 1842, 1842, 1849, 1850, 
1854, 1859. 


PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE TEXT 63 


his life’s work was in the editing of ancient MSS. Besides 
the Sinaitic MS., the Vatican (B), and the Codex Ephraemi 
(D), many manuscripts containing valuable portions of the 
New Testament were edited by him, so that he accomplished 
more than any other scholar had done in making the uncial 
evidence for the text accessible to all readers. 

The work of Dr. Henry Atrorp, Dean of Canterbury, 
should here be noticed. His New Testament (1849-61, with 
a revised and enlarged edition 1868), besides an exegetical 
commentary, contains a revised text with a full critical 
apparatus. He generally follows Tischendorf, but by no 
means slavishly, and his work may often be usefully con- 
sulted by the New Testament student. 

The Greek Testament edited by B. F. Westcort, late 
Bishop of Durham, and Dr. F. J. A. Horr appeared in 
1881—the outcome of thirty years’ friendship and co-opera- 
tion between these two distinguished Cambridge scholars. 
An elaborate Introduction by Hort sets forth in detail the 
principles and method of the work. The classification of 
authorities into ‘families’ is revived, but with much greater 
elaboration, and the probable history of growth and change 
in the text is traced with much skill. The work has been 
prepared in all respects with the greatest care; and although 
the editors have not given a critical apparatus, which in 
fact could have added little or nothing to that of Tischendorf, 
there are special notes on controverted and difficult readings 
which greatly enhance the value of the book. 

53. Pleas for the ‘Traditional Text.’—Such a work 
was not likely, any more than the earlier critical editions, 
to pass without opposition, and the learned Dean of 
Chichester, Dr. J. B. Burcon, with his follower and sur- 
vivor, Prebendary Miller, very vigorously maintained the 
superior claims of the ‘ Traditional Text’—in other words, 
of the Textus Receptus cleared from certain minor blemishes. 
Besides evidence adduced, largely from patristic quotations, 


64 THE NEW TESTAMENT 


the ground taken was chiefly the assumption that the Church 
would not have been permitted by its Divine Head to accept 
through many generations a corrupted Scripture. In pur- 
suance of this theory, the design was formed of publishing 
this Traditional Text in its genuine form. The death, 
however, of the promoters of the scheme put a stop to the 
execution of the plan ; it is doubtful whether it could now 
be carried out, and in face of the accumulated mass of 
adverse evidence and the general concurrence of critics 
of every school, it could scarcely hope for much acceptance. 
Mention should be made of the latest critical edition that 
has been published up to the date of the present work, 
that by the venerable Bernnarp Wess, of Maulbronn in 
Wiirtemburg (completed 1gor). Its chief characteristic is 
a careful estimation of internal evidence. He balances 
conclusions as a practised exegete, and accordingly demurs 


to many readings which Westcott and Hort have accepted ~ 


on the weight of external authority, differing also from 
these scholars on the ‘genealogical’ theory. But he agrees 
with them in assigning the supreme place to the Vatican MS. 

54. For the general reader, many editions of the Greek 
Testament have appeared, which summarize the conclusions 
of editors, without detailing the documentary or other data. 
Dr. Scrivener’s Greek New Testament has the Textus Receptus 
(or rather Stephens’ 1550 edition) with the altered words 
and phrases printed in special type, referring to the readings 
of the Elzevirs (where differing from Stephens), Lachmann, 
Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott and Hort, and the Revised 
English Version. Dr. Weymouth’s Resultant Greek Testament 
(1886)* constructed a text from the foregoing authorities, with 
Alford, the Basel edition, and, in certain books, Lightfoot, 
Ellicott, and Weiss. The verdict of the majority is generally 
taken, but the chief variants are given in the margin, 


® An English translation by Dr. Weymouth has been published 
(1903) since his death ; The New Testament in Modern Speech. 


PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE TEXT 65 


Dr. E. Nestle published through the Stuttgart Bible 
Society a similar work in convenient pocket form (second 
edition 1901), which had the advantage of Dr. Weiss’s read- 
ings *. And lastly, one of the results of the New Testament 
Revision, 1881, was the publication of the text followed 
by the Revisers, constructed by Archdeacon Palmer, not 
from an examination of original authorities, but from a com- 
parison of editions. In general, it followed the Received Text 
of Stephens, introducing only those alterations which affect 
the English version. It is thus convenient to the English 
student, but to others is of little value. The chief variations 
from the Received Text are noted in the margin. Every 
student of the Greek Testament is thus provided with ample 
means for comparing, if not for testing, the latest results 
of Textual Criticism. 


s A new edition of this most uscful work was issued, in a slightly 
altered form, as one of the Centenary publications of the British and 
Foreign Bible Society, in rgo04. 


CHAPTER IV 


ON THE TEXT OF THE OLD AND 
NEW TESTAMENTS 


Textual Criticism: General Method 


55. Biblical Criticism is twofold.—First, the exact 
Text of Scripture, as it existed in the original MSS., has, so 
far as possible, to be ascertained ; and then the Contents of 
Scripture have to be examined, with reference to their 
composition, authorship, date, and historical value, as 
judged from internal evidence. The former process is 
generally described as Textual Criticism; the latter is 
frequently termed the Higher Criticism, a phrase first 
applied to Biblical studies by Eichhorn a century ago*. 
This word ‘higher’ is perhaps open to objection, as it may 
seem to suggest some superiority. Since it really implies 
nothing more than that the consideration of the contents 
naturally follows the determination of the text, a better 
designation would be ‘the Further Criticism’; or, better 
still, ‘ Historical Criticism,’ to indicate its chief aim and 
result!, The Hore Pauling of Paley illustrates the 


" See Introduction to the Study of the Old Testament, Jena, 1787; second 
edition, Gittingen, 1803. English translation (in part) by G. T. 
Gollop, 1888. 

> “ Higher eriticism concerns itself with questions as to the compo- 
sition, authorship, date, and historical value of an ancient document, 
as these may be judged from internal evidence. The term is used in 
contrast to lower (more frequently called textual) criticism, which is 
eonfined simply to the state of the text, and seeks to ascertain its 
original form, freed from the errors which are incidental to the trans- 


TEXTUAL VARIATIONS ILLUSTRATED 67 


method. That many who have employed such criticism 
have been led to conflicting and erroneous conclusions, is 
an argument against the critics, not against the process. 
which, if legitimately conducted, must enlarge our know- 
ledge of Scripture, and so be of lasting service to the cause 
of truth. 


56. External Testimony to the original text. The main 
sources have been indicated in Chs. II and III. 

1. The Greek MSS. themselves: the object of their colla- 
tion is to discover with all attainable accuracy the precise 
words of the originals, 

2. In this endeavour the most ancient Versions are of 
great service, since they give us access, though at second- 
hand, to a text of considerably earlier date than that of the 
oldest extant MSS. 

3. Quotations of the New Testament in early Christian 
and other writers are useful, with all allowance for loose- 
ness in citation, in showing the text which they employed. 

4. It may be added that in numberless cases Internal 
Evidence must be resorted to for decision between readings 
of equal or nearly-balanced external authority. 


Textual Variations Illustrated 


57. The following illustrations will aid the reader in 
‘apprehending the principles and general results of textual 
eriticism, and will confirm belief in the close conformity of 
the existing Scriptures, in letter as in spirit, with the 
inspired word. 

Mistakes in Copying, unintentional. The written 
words, haying descended to us through a series of transcrip- 


mission of ancient manuscripts. Thus the adjective higher defines 
nothing more than the relation of this class of criticism to the other ; 
and the best descriptive antithesis to textual is historical.’ C. F. Burney, 
in Contentio Veritatis, p. 16a. 


F2 


“ee gem 


68 TEXT OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


tions, have been inevitably exposed to such errors as are 
found in the work of all copyists. Even printed books often 
contain numerous inaccuracies, in spite of the most careful 
reading of proof-sheets ; and in writing the risk is much 
greater than in printing, revision and correction of each 
copy being necessary and laborious. The slowness of 
the process increases the probability that letters, syllables, 
and words will be added, omitted, changed, or transposed. 
Sometimes the writer transcribes from a MS. before him, 
sometimes from dictation. In the latter case, his ear is 
liable to deceive him; in the former, his eye. The same 
word or final syllable may recur at a short interval: and 
when the pen has written the former, the eye slips on to 
the latter, causing the intervening words to be dropped *. 
Long vowels are also put for short, and vice versa”. Mis- 
understandings of the MS. from which the transcriber 
writes will sometimes lead to error. He may either mis- 
interpret its abbreviations, or inaccurately divide the words, 
where written, as in most ancient MSS., without pause- 
marks; or the MS. may in places be wholly or partially 
effaced. Independently, therefore, of design, these causes 
of error would be always at work—similar to the mistakes 
produced in any English book by such errata as escape the 
eye of even a careful reader. 

Illustrations may be given from both Old and New 
Testaments ; the latter affording the wider field ; thus :— 

1. There are many cases in which, from the similarity 
of two words in sound, the transcriber has fallen into error. 

1. Interchange of letters (Old Testament).—In Judg 8" the Hebrew 
text and English read ‘he taught the men of Succoth.’ The change 


of one letter, w to y, would make the meaning ‘ he tore the men’ as in 
verse 7. So the LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, &c. See R. V., margin. 
® The technical name for this source of error is homeoteleuton (similar 
ending). 
» This mistake is technically termed itacism, from the discussion as 
to the correct pronunciation of the Greek vowel éta, and others, 


TEXTUAL VARIATIONS ILLUSTRATED 69 


In Num 22° ‘the children of his people’ would become, by the addition 
of one letter (the final 7), ‘the children of Ammon.’ So the Vulgate. 

A remarkable series of passages will convey opposite meanings, 
according as we read the same sound Jd, ‘not’ or ‘to him’ (385 or 45) 
‘Not’ is written (kéthibh), but to him, or its equivalents, are directed by 
the Massoretes to be read (qéri). ‘Thus Ps roo% ‘not we ourselves’ is 
variously read ‘ we (are) to or for Him’ = ‘His we are’ (R.V.). Is 9° 
‘and not increased the joy’ reads ‘Thou hast increased their joy.’ Is 49° 
‘though Israel be not gathered’ becomes ‘that Israel may be gathered 
to Him.’ On the other hand, in 2 Ki 8'° the right reading seems to be 
‘thou shalt not recover *.’ 

Ps 59° ‘(Because of) His strength will I wait upon Thee’ by a very 
slight change in one letter (1 to ») becomes, with the LXX and 
Vulgate, ‘O my Strength, I will wait upon Thee.’ See Delitzsch’s note. 

As the Divine Name Jenovan (prop. Yahveh) was not pronounced by 
the Jews, copyists were apt to substitute for it Adonai, ‘Lord,’ or 
Elohim, ‘God.’ Hence many variations. 

(New Testament. )—In Ac 131° instead of ‘suffered He their manners’ 
many MSS. and editors read ‘bare them as a nursing-father’; the 
difference only of one letter (ph for p (érporopépyoer or érpopopdpnaer)). 

Ro 7° for rec. ‘that being dead’ we should read ‘we being dead,’ 
a difference of one letter (e for 0 (do9avdvres for dtoBavéyTos)). 

In a few cases, the insertion, omission, or change of a single letter 
greatly affects the meaning of a passage. 

Mk 6°, Herod ‘did many things’ or ‘ was much perplexed,’ a differ- 
ence of two letters only. 

Lu 24 ‘good will among men’ or ‘among men of good will.’ The 
difference depends on the omission or insertion of the letter s. 

Lu 211° ‘In your patience ye shall win your souls’ or ‘ possess ye’ ; 
again the difference of a single letter (e or a (xrnaecbe or kTHTac0€e)). 

t Tim 3! ‘God was manifested’ or ‘He Who was manifested,’ 
dependent on a single stroke in the uncial MSS. (OC abbreviation for 
God, OC who). 

Rey 1° ‘washed us from our sins’ or ‘locsed us from our sins,’ the 
difference being in the insertion or omission of the vowel o (Aovcayt 
or Avoav7t), 

_ The above examples may suffice to illustrate the facility with which 

errors in copying may be made. The discrimination between the 
original and the mistaken form requires the careful application of 
critical principles, as hereafter stated. 


* Other instances are Ex 21® t Sa 2° Ezr 4? Job 13" Is 63° (all 
doubtful; see R. V. margin); and Job 41! (/7eb. *) Ps 139° Pr 197 26° 
(‘ not’ obviously right). 


70 TEXT OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


2, Similarity of ending (homoteleuton) of words or 
sentences sometimes occasioned mistakes. Thus, in 1 Jn 
2*° the A.V. prints in italics the clause ‘but he that ac- 
knowledgeth the Son, hath the Father also.’ The words, 
however, are overwhelmingly attested (: A BC), and were 
doubtless dropped in some MSS. by confusion of the 
repeated phrase ‘hath the Father’ (rdv rarépa €xe). So in 
Lu 18°*-8°; both verses end with ‘have merey on me’ 
(eAenoov pe), with the result that some copies omit the 
whole of verse 39. 

3. A large class of various readings owe their origin to 
the use of synonymous expressions: as ‘he spoke’ for ‘he 
said,’ in 2 Ki 1!°; ‘this very world’ for ‘ this present world,’ 
Mt 12*°; ‘the messengers of John’ for ‘the disciples of 
John,’ in Lu 724; ‘to follow after’ for ‘follow,’ Mk 8%, 

4. Many copyists were acquainted with other Oriental 
languages, and, in the case of the New Testament, with 
other dialects ; and thence arose great diversity in ortho- 
graphy even where the readings are substantially the same. 

5. Ancient MSS. are often without stops, and without 
even the division of the words: hence occasional mistakes, 
though fewer than might be supposed. 

In Ps 48", for ‘unto death’ some MSS. and the LXX read, by con- 
necting the two words, ‘for ever.’ And Ps 25" may be read, through 
a similar mistake, ‘ Enlarge the troubles of my heart, and bring,’ &e. ; 
compare also LXX, and Heb. of Ps 4°. In the New Testament 
examples of a similar kind occur in Col 2'° 2 Pet 1°, 

6. Sometimes abbreviations are wrongly interpreted. 
Thus, “* (J) is the Hebrew abbreviation for ‘Jehovah’; and 
it means also my: hence an occasional mistake. In the 
LXX of Jer 6"!, ‘the fury of J’ is translated ‘ My fury.’ 

7. In Old Testament MSS. the copyists never left any 
vacant space at the end of a line, nor did they divide 
words (by hyphen); and hence they often filled up the 
line with some favourite letter, or with the initial of the 


TEXTUAL VARIATIONS ILLUSTRATED 71 


next word, which of course was repeated in the following 
line. ‘For them,’ in Is 351, isan example, see R.V. And, on 
the other hand, ignorant copyists have mistaken final letters 
for mere custodes linearum, as they are called, and have 
omitted them. 


8. Sometimes marginal readings have been inserted in 
the body of the MSS., corrective or explanatory of the 
original text. 


The repetition ‘Surely the people is grass’ (Is 40°) may be due to 
this cause, and is not found in the LXX. The number 50,000, in 
t Sa 61°, is supposed by Jahn to be another instance. 

Such additions are more frequent in New Testament MSS. 

In Lu 7", ‘God has visited His people for good’ (eis dya@ov), an 
addition in some MSS. and Versions in explanation of a phrase which 
seemed scarcely clear. 

Jn 554. The account of the angel at Bethesda seems to have been 
originally a marginal explanation of the healing efficacy of the waters. 

Ro 8!, The words ‘ who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit’ 
are probably from the margin, to define those who are ‘in Christ Jesus.’ 

Ro 11°, The latter half of the verse appears to have been added by 
a copyist from the margin to complete the antithesis. 

t Cor 67°. The words ‘and in your spirit which are God's,’ originally 
a marginal note, added to make the injunction more comprehensive. 

Gal 47°. The word all is no doubt from the margin. 

Rey 21%, For the true reading ‘ the nations shall walk in the light 
of it,’ indicating the universal influence of Christ’s kingdom, some 
annotator has added to nations the explanation ‘of them that are 
saved,’ so misapprehending and limiting the passage. 

In Lu6!, to the words ‘ And it came to pass on a Sabbath’ the Received 
Text (A. Y. ‘the second after the first’) adds ‘ the second-first ’ (Sevrepo- 
mpw7T@). The word occurs nowhere else, and has been a crux interpretum. 
The best MSS. (x B L) omit the word, and their authority might be 
unhesitatingly accepted but for the suspicion that the word may have 
been dropped just because of its obscurity : the principle of Transcrip- 
tional Probability (§ 62, 2) makes it necessary to account for its insertion 
if not genuine. An ingenious suggestion was made by Meyer, and 
adopted by WH and others, that the word is simply the fusion of two 
marginal notes. In distinction from the ‘on another (érépw) Sabbath’ 
of verse 6, some scribe has annotated verse 1‘on a first’ (mpw7w). But 
the recollection of previous Sabbath incidents (4%! §%) has moved yet 
another scribe to insert a corrective ‘on a second’ (devrépw) above the 







a7 a, re A 
} rani 
ey lass bit 


72 TEXT OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


other margin. Hence the anomalous devreporpw7e, which finds its 
way from margin into text, to the bewilderment of expositors. Whether 
the conjecture be received or not, it at least illustrates a not unusual 
source of corruption. 

See further, Mt 207 Mk 876 of (as from a marginal reference to 
Lev 25) Jn 8° Ac 1554 18°° 20'5 (completing the narrative of the 
voyage) 2818-20 Ro 14° x Cor 1174 (‘broken’) Gal 3! r Pet 4 1 Jn 4% 
Rev 5\4. 

All the above instances are specimens of many readings in 
MSS. as well as in patristic and other quotations*, but not 
included in the best texts. It will be seen that the removal 
of the clauses cited neither adds nor takes away anything 
material, in either history or doctrine, 


58. Intentional Alterations.—The sources of various 
readings noticed thus far may be regarded as accidental. 
Other readings, however, were intentionally made, either 
from good motives or from bad. A Greek copyist, for 
’ example, would correct a Hebraism as a violation of gram- 
mar. He would sometimes substitute for the original 
Greek words which he deemed more clear and easy. Some- 
times he would correct one Evangelist by another, or fill 
up the shorter account from the longer one, or adapt the 
quotations from the Old Testament to the text of his own 
copy, Whether it were Hebrew, or Greek, or Latin. Or 
again, some theological or sectarian bias may have influenced 
the copyist. 


9. Thus, orthographic anomalies are sometimes per- 
petuated through a whole book or section. 


* The tendency to amplify Scripture texts in citing them is con- 
tinually exemplified. Who has not heard from the pulpit, or read in 
popular literature, such quotations as ‘whatsoever thy hand findeth 
to do, do it with all thy might’; ‘look upon us in the face of Thine 
anointed’; ‘we roll sin as a sweet morsel.under our tongue’; ‘Thou.. 
canst not look upon iniquity but with abhorrence’ ; ‘the light of Thy 
reconciled countenance’; ‘diligent in business, fervent in spirit’ 
‘where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the 
midst of them, and that to bless them.’ 


Poy 


TEXTUAL VARIATIONS ILLUSTRATED 73 


The Hebrew for boy is put 22 times in the Pentateuch for girl (na‘ar 
for na‘arah). The explanation probably is that one form was originally 
used for both genders ; the feminine termination -ch being later intro- 
duced, but the word being unaltered in the Pentateuch owing to the 
peculiar reverence with which the Law of Moses was regarded. See 
Dr. Ginsburg’s Massora, vol. iv, § 113, p. 294. Once only, the later 
orthography penetrated into the written text, Deut 22°. The feminine 
form, however, is given in the gi. Some Hebraists, with less pro- 
bability, regard the case as one of a-scribal error perpetuated. Thus 
in Eze 40, the ordinary sign of the plural @ (* before suffix }) is 
omitted in the text 34 times, but is restored in the gi. 


to. Sometimes attempts were made to improve MSS., by 
making the language more clear and easy. 


Many passages of the Chronicles, when compared with Samuel, will 
be found to give more modern words, in place of the obsolete ones otf 
the earlier writer. These passages, when compared by copyists, gave 
rise to various readings. See Hebrew of 1 Sa 31!? and 1 Ch to”: 
2 Sa 7% and 1 Ch 177!: 2 Sa 6'® and 1 Ch 15?°. 

In Mt 6 the word righteousness is thought to have been changed by a 
copyist to ‘alms’; the fact being overlooked that the precept includes 
prayer and fasting as well as alms. In Mt 9' a transcriber appears to 
have altered ‘were afraid’ to ‘ marvelled,’ supposing the former expres- 
sion unsuitable. In Jn 3*° the ‘Jew’ who argued with the disciples of 
the Baptist is multiplied into ‘Jews.’ In MK 10% the vivid ‘sprang up’ 
(describing the act of Bartimzus) is altered to ‘rose’; and in Jn 4% 
the transcriber’s omission of ‘all the way hither’ obscures the sugges- 
tion of the long journey to the well. Many graphic touches of a 
similar kind are restored to the New Testament text by criticism. 

Difficulties, again, seem to have been felt by transcribers in regard to 
the negative. Thus in Mk 5* the correct text is ‘ not heeding’ (our Lord 
disregards the objection) ; and in Col 2'* for ‘ which he hath not seen’ 
read ‘which he hath seen’ (the standpoint being faith, not sight). 

A singular class of alterations has either changed assertions to 
exhortations, or the reverse. The principal instance is Ro 5! ‘let us 
have peace with God.’ But there are several others in MSS., as Ro 6% 
* let us believe,’ 617 ‘let us obey’; 1 Cor 14} ‘let me pray,’ 15*° ‘let us 
bear’; 2 Tim 2™-! ‘let us live,’ ‘let us reign.’ But the weight ot 
authority is decisively against the hortatory sense in all these passages, 
excepting Ro 5! and perhaps 1 Cor 15**, on which (especially on the 
former) critics are still divided. Several of these passages may be 
instances of itacism. (See p. 68, note ».) 

Slighter amendments have been made by copyists in the supposed 


74 TEXT OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


interest of accuracy. Mk 1’, original text, ‘in the prophet Isaiah’ ; 
Eph 5° ‘the fruit of the light’; Mk 3%° ‘an eternal sin’; Jn 14 
‘whither I go, ye know the way’: the disciples did not know the end, 
but they did know the way to it. 

Sometimes it is difficult to tell which is the original, which the 
correction. Lu 4** ‘Galilee’ or ‘Judza.’ Should the latter reading be 
authenticated, it may be an interesting reference to our Lord’s ministry 
in southern Palestine. 

In the Pentateuch the word for God is plural (Elohim), and is 
sometimes joined with a singular verb and sometimes with a plural 
verb. In all the latter cases there is a variety of readings: most of 
them (as in the Sam.) in fayour of a singular noun (as ‘ the Holy One’), 
retaining, however, the plural verb: the object being, probably, to 
prevent a supposition that the Scriptures favoured polytheism. See 
Gen 20'S 357. 


11. Sometimes alterations were made to suit a parallel 


passage, or to make the text agree with the passage from 


which it is quoted. This is frequently the case in New 
Testament quotations from the LXX. 


Lu 418 ‘to heal the broken-hearted’ is wanting in several MSS. It 
is probably taken from the LXX of Is 611. Mt 12® ‘of the heart’ is 
omitted in many MSS., and in the Vulg., Syr., Copt., Pers., Arab. It is 
probably from Lu 6*. Mt 20°*-*5 ‘the baptism I am baptized with, can 
ye be baptized with?’ is wanting in several MSS., and in the Vulg., 
Ethiop., and Copt.; probably from Mk 1ro*8®, Mt 27%5 ‘That it might 
be fulfilled,’ &c., is wanting in very many MSS., the Syr., Copt., Ethiop., 
and Arab. It is, probably, from Jn 19%. In Lu 117 the Lord’s 
Prayer has been assimilated to the form in Mt 6. In Mt 9'% the words 
‘to repentance’ have been added from Lu 5°%. In Mt 15° ‘ draweth 
nigh unto Me with their mouth, and’ is an insertion from Is 295; 
and in Ro 13° ‘thou shalt not bear false witness’ is an addition to the 
commandments quoted. 

In Mt 19" the remarkable reading (approved by most critics) ‘ why 
askest thou Me concerning the good ?’ has been assimilated by copyists 
to Mk ro'® Lu 18!°, 

In Mt 11! the true reading seems to be ‘by her works,’ altered to 
‘children’ from Lu 7%. In Lu 9% ‘My Son, My chosen’ has been 
changed to ‘ My beloved Son,’ according to Mt 17° Mk 9g’. 

The repetition (WH doubtfully) of the ‘ prodigal’s’ words to his 
father, Lu 15*1 from verse 19, seems against the weight of evidence. 
The son was not permitted, in his father’s eager welcome, to finish his 
appeal. 


TEXTUAL VARIATIONS ILLUSTRATED 75 


For further instances of the insertion by copyists of parallel passages 
see Mt 18" (Lu 192°) 201% (2214) Lu 178 (the salutation of Elisabeth, 
verse 42, also attributed to the angel). 

Quotations from the Old Testament, noted by transcribers, Mt 27° 
(Ps 2218) Mk 1578 (Is 531%). Ac 9, 22, 26, and Ac to, 11 have been 
peculiarly liable to various readings. 1 Cor 15° ‘the twelve’ being 
not strictly accurate (for Thomas was absent), some MSS. read ‘ the 
eleven. So, in Mk 8°1, some MSS. read ‘after three days,’ and 
others ‘on the third day.’ 


12. Sometimes a passage has been altered wilfully, to 
serve the purposes of a party, or to favour what was 
deemed the cause of truth. 


In Dt 27” the Hebd. reads ‘Ebal,’ and the Sam. ‘ Gerizim,’ which was 
in the Samaritan territory ; and the passage was used as a reason for 
erecting there a Samaritan temple. In Judg 18°° ‘Manasseh’ is 
written in many MSS. for Moses, to save the honour of his family. 
Is 64* has been altered, and is now unintelligible. It is quoted in 
1 Cor 2°. Is 52!4, for ‘at thee’ some MSS., the Chald., Syr., and Vulg. 
read ‘at him.’ Such intentional alterations, however, are very rare in 
the Old Testament ; nor are there many in the Greek New Testament. 
In Mt 13 ‘before they came together,’ and the word ‘ first-born,’ are 
omitted in some MSS. and versions, in favour of the perpetual vir- 
ginity. In Mk 13°? ‘ neither the Son’ is omitted in several MSS. and 
Fathers, as seeming to favour Arianism. Lu 2”? the genuine reading 
‘their’ is changed in a few later MSS. to ‘her’ so as to exempt the 
Holy Child. Jn 78 ‘yet’ is probably an addition, to avoid offence. 
Lu 22*-44 are omitted in A B and some other MSS., but the evidence 
for the genuineness of the passage apparently preponderates. Still 
less reason is there for omitting Lu 23%, although the verse is absent 
from many MSS. Some passages seem to have been tampered with to 
favour ascetic practices. Thus the references to fasting, Mk 9° Ac 10°, 
have no place in the best critical texts, Ac 8°’ appears to have been 
added to connect baptism with the profession of faith. See Ro 10% 


13. There are also various readings, which can be ex- 
plained only on the supposition of carelessness on the part 
of transcribers, and which are not referable to any of the 
causes just enumerated. 

In 1 Ch 6% there is an omission of the name Joel (see verse 33: 


t Sa 8’). The verse really reads ‘And the sons of Samuel, the first- 
born Jool, and the second (Ileb, vashni) Abiah,’ A singular instance 





may be seen in 28a 21°; the words ‘ the brother of’ being apparently 
omitted ; see 1 Ch 20°. But the Hebrew of the verse in 2 Samuel is 
evidently in some confusion. The name Jair 1 Ch 20° becomes Jaare- 
oregim 2 Sa 21'*, ‘oregim’ meaning ‘ weavers,’ as if from the latter part 
of the verse. The 430 years mentioned in Ex 12*, as the time of the 
sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt, is inconsistent with 
Gal 3\7 Gen rat 17%"! 25%. The Samaritan and LXX insert after 
‘Egypt’ ‘and in Canaan.’ 

Among phrases in the New Testament dropped in transcription, but 
now restored from the MSS., are ‘in Hebrew’ (Jn 20"); ‘not being 
myself under the law’ (1 Cor 9*°); ‘even as ye do walk’ (1 Th 4"); 
‘according unto God’ (1 Pet 5”); ‘and such we are’ (1 Jn 3"); ‘having 
His name and’ (Rev 141). Other accidental changes occur in Mt 17* 
‘I will make’ (Peter speaking) ; Mk 67°; Ac 3*° ‘ appointed for you’ 
instead of ‘preached unto you’; 1 Tim 1* ‘a dispensation of God’ 
instead of ‘godly edifying’; Heb 10% ‘on them that were in bonds’ 
instead of ‘on me in my bonds.’ 


59. The readings which have originated in these and 
similar causes amount to many thousands; but in nearly 
all the various readings may be adopted without materially 
affecting the sense. Bishop Westcott forcibly remarks, 
‘It cannot be repeated too often that the text of the New 
Testament surpasses all other Greek texts in the antiquity, 
variety, and fullness of the evidence by which it is attested. 
About seven-eighths of the words are raised above all doubt 
by a unique combination of authorities ; and of the questions 
which affect the remaining one-eighth, a great part are 
simply questions of order and form, and such that serious 
doubt does not appear to touch more than one-sixtieth part 
of the whole text®.’ So, again, to quote an authority which 
will not be suspected of a conservative bias, the article on 
‘Text and Versions’ in the Encyclopedia Biblica remarks 
at the close: ‘In concluding an article of any length on the 
textual criticism of the Bible it is always wholesome to 
remind oneself of the comparative soundness of the text.’ 


" Some Lessons of the Revised Version, pp. 209, 210. 
> Encyc. Bib. vol. 4, p. 5031, art. by F. C. Burkitt. 


PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CRITICISM 77 


Principles and Rules of Criticism 


60. It becomes then a question of much interest, how 
the comparative value of various readings is to be decided. 
The answers to this question constitute the Science of 
Textual Criticism. Its general principles demand for 
their application the knowledge and skill of experts; while 
it is yet possible so to state them that every student of 
Scripture can apprehend their truth and value, with their 
bearing upon each individual case. 

From the preceding illustrations, it will have appeared 
that textual criticism of the Old Testament materially differs 
in many particulars from that of the New. The text of the 
former has been fixed by long tradition, all MSS. varying 
from the one standard being destroyed. Hence there is 
practically but one recension—the Massoretic ; variations 
being noted in the marginal gé%, and the limits of critical 
decision lying—apart from conjectural emendation, with or 
without the support of the versions—between this and the 
kethibh (written text). In general the former is to be pre- 
ferred, but by no means always, as already illustrated 
(§ 57, 1) in the passages that vary between not and to him. 

The original text of the New Testament, on the other 
hand, is without any authoritative revision. The collation 
of MSS., with the examination of collateral evidence of 
ancient versions, of quotations by early writers, and of the 
intrinsic character of different readings, has been the work 
of critics whose lives have been devoted to the anxious task. 
The following principles are recognized by all scholars : 

1. When MSS., versions, and quotations agree in a reading, 
the EXTERNAL evidence in its favour is complete ; and, when 
the reading thus fixed agrees with the nature of the lan- 
guage, the sense, the connexion of historical facts, and parallel 
passages, the INTERNAL evidence is complete. Where these 
concur, the reading is undoubtedly genuine ; and this is the 


i 
78 TEXT OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


evidence found in the case of the great bulk of the Scriptures, 
as contained in the common editions. 

2. When the documents present conflicting readings, the 
determination of the text is « matter of adjustment of 
External and Internal evidence. 


External Evidence. 


61. If witnesses could be simply counted, the task would 
be simple. They must be weighed, a process of great in- 
tricacy and difficulty. Some of the more obvious conditions 
on which the value of a New Testament MS. depends may 
be noted. 

1. Its age. There is at least a presumption that the 
older the document the older the text, and one less vitiated 
by successive copyings. But it is both a possibility and 
a fact that some late MSS. may preserve transcripts of very 
early ones which have since perished. 

2. The age of the text it contains, ascertained by com- 
parison with early patristic citations and early versions. 

3. The family to which it belongs. In their support of 
readings, the MSS. and versions are found to fall into 
groups; the same set of documents are continually together 
on the one side or the other. This fact has been genea- 
logically interpreted. 


By careful comparison of Greek MSS. with the texts used by the 
Fathers of East and West, and with those underlying the Latin, 
Syriac, and Egyptian versions, three main types of text have been 
determined, each represented by certain MSS., versions, and 
Fathers. 

r. Syrrayn, Antiochian, Byzantine, or Constantinopolitan. This is 
the text of the great bulk of uncials and cursives, and is virtually 
identical with the ‘Received Text’ underlying the English A. V. 

2. WESTERN, so called because represented by the Greeco-Latin 
Codex Bezw (D) and the Old Latin version. It was, however, more 
or less current throughout Christendom, and often agrees with the 
Syriac versions. 

3. ALEXANDRIAN, the text of the oldest codices and the ancient 


PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CRITICISM 79 


Egyptian version. It is on witnesses of this third type that modern 
critical editors mainly rely. WH distinguished among them a yet 
more select group, which had escaped the refining process of the 
critical school of Alexandria, and to which they gave the name 
Nevurrat: for practical purposes the group consists of Bx. More recent 
criticism, however. hardly endorses this distinction, and, especially, 
questions the wholesale rejection of Western authorities to which 
WH committed themselves. A further study of these in the 
Gospels and the Acts has already done much to vindicate their value, 
and to suggest that the textual criticism of the future must build on 
a broader foundation than that adopted by Dr. Hort in his invaluable 
Introduction. 


When we come to consider readings which are but 
probable, being equally, or more or less nearly equally, 
supported by external evidence, the rules of criticism 
become more difficult, and the application of them must be 
made with less rigidity. 


Internal Evidence. 


62. Internal evidence is directed to the answer of two 
questions: (1) What is the author likely to have written ? 
(Intrinsic probability), (2) Which of the competing readings 
are more likely to be due to error, unconscious or conscious, 
of the copyists? (Transcriptional probability.) 

The general principle is, that out of conflicting readings, the reading 
is to be preferred which best explains the origin of the rest. The 
principle, however, needs much critical knowledge and sagacity in its 
application. The usual proclivities of the copyists, carefully observed 
and tabulated, form the basis of the so-called Canons or CRITICISM, 
rules which are serviceable if used as rough generalizations only, and 
always liable to exception. The following, which sometimes overlap, 
may be mentioned :— 

1. Of two readings, equally supported by external evi- 
dence, that is the most probable which best suits the 
sense; or else which could not, so easily as the other, have 
been written by mistake. 

These are the general principles of Intrinsic and Tran- 
scriptional Probability. In application, they often conflict, 





80 TEXT OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


because the reading which is intrinsically preferable is, on 
that account, likely to have been substituted for one more 
difficult. See 2. 


Ae 117°, The reading of many MSS. is ‘unto the Grecians’; but 
probably it ought to be, as many others read, ‘unto the Greeks.’ The 
fact seems noticed because of its remarkableness, and justly so, if it 
was the second case of the success of the gospel among Gentiles; see 
1o*.45 for the first. ‘Grecians’ or ‘ Hellenists’ were Jews who resided 
out of Palestine, and many of whom had already received the gospel. 
The R. V. reads ‘Greeks,’ but WH retain ‘ Grecians.’ 

Some editors have adopted the practical rule that, where the external 
testimony is equally balanced, readings not decidedly better than the 
Received Text should not be placed in it: but if as good, or nearly so, 
they may be placed in the margin. This rule must be speciaily borne 
in mind in the study of the R.V. Only, as the Revisers required 
a two-thirds majority before altering the Received Text, many readings 
were consigned to the margin which had received an actual plurality 
of votes, and which are distinctly preferable to those adopted in their 
text. This remark applies also to translations, 


2, Of the readings, the one easy and the other difficult, 
the latter is generally to be preferred: a rule thus formulated 
by Bengel: ‘Proclivi scriptioni praestat ardua.’ Evidently, 
a copyist was more likely to smooth away a difficulty than 
to introduce one. 

Thus, ‘the first-fruits of Asia,’ Ro 16°, is preferred, asa more difficult 
reading, to ‘the first-fruits of Achaia, seeing that the Epistle was 
written from Corinth. In Rev 8" eagle is decidedly more difficult 
than angel. In the genealogy Mt 1 Asaph and Amos are more difficult 
than Asa and Amon. But in some places the reading is not only 
difficult but impossible, as Mt 21°! ‘the latter’ ; obviously inadmissible 
(unless the reference to the two servants be reversed in the parable); 
and Ro 8? ‘set thee free’ ; contrary to the whole scope of the passage. 

3. Of two readings, equally supported, the shorter is 
probably the genuine one, as copyists were more likely 
from intention to add than to omit, although more likely 
from accident to omit than to add; and the rule therefore 
must not be pressed in every case. 


For a list of transcribers’ omissions see § 58, and for their additions, 


PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CRITICISM 81 


§ 57,8. The comparison of the two lists well illustrates the applica- 
tion of the rule. 


4. Of two readings, the one classical and the other 
Oriental, the latter is the more probable. 


There was a natural tendency to prune away provincialisms and 
solecisms in orthography, grammar, and syntax. See especially 
Dr. Hort’s Introduction, pp. 148-80, ‘Notes on Orthography.’ On the 
other hand, allowance has to be made for the provincialisms of the 
scribes of individual documents. 


5. Of two readings equally supported, that is to be pre- 
ferred which best agrees with the style of the writer, or 
with his design, or with the context. 


6. Conjectural readings, supported by the sense, or by 
versions, may be probable; but must not be received as 
indubitable, unless they are confirmed by evidence. 


In Gen 1° ‘God saw that it was good’ is wanting at the end of the 
second day’s creation, but is found in verse 10, in the middle of the 
third day’s work. There has, therefore, probably been a transposition 
of the clause, especially as the LXX reads the phrase in verse 8. In 
Gen 4° the Hebrew means ‘said unto Abel,’ hardly ‘talked with’ (A. V.) or 
‘told’ (R. V.). Probably the words preserved in the LXX, ‘ Let us go 
into the field,’ have dropped out of the text. (See R. V. margin.) 


In the New Testament (as MSS. and other authorities are 
numerous and varied) conjectural emendation is less ad- 
missible. Some modern critics have carried the practice 
to an utterly unjustifiable extent. It is a sound maxim 
that ‘the only test of a successful conjecture is that it shall 
approve itself as inevitable. Lacking inevitableness, it 
remains doubtful *.’ 


If conjecture were ever to be admitted, it might be in Ac 2078, where 
the readings ‘ God’ and ‘Lord’ present almost equal difficulty. The 
sentence would be in harmony with New Testament usage if read, as 


® Professor B. B. Warfield, Introduction to Textual Criticism of New 
Testament, p. 209. 


3 


eee 
MT 


g2 TEXT OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


Westcott suggests, with the addition of one word: ‘which He hath 
purchased by the blood of His own Son.’ See also Lightfoot on 
Col 21, 


Application of Critical Canons 


63. To aid the reader to apply these rules, we take as an 
instance 1 Jn 5, the ‘Three Heavenly Witnesses.’ 


The passage is printed in the Clementine editions of the Vulgate, in 
the Complutensian of the Greek, in the third edition of Erasmus; and 
thence found its way into the common texts of Stephens, Beza, and 
Elzevir. 


Against its genuineness it may be said, 


1. That no Greek MS. of certainly earlier date than the fifteenth 
century contains it, It is omitted in many cursive MSS., and in 
sABGK, 

2. It is wanting in all the ancient versions, except the Latin, nor 
is it found in the most ancient MSS. of the Vulgate, the Codd. 
Amiatinus, Puldensis, Harleian, or in any earlier than the ninth century. 
It is wanting, for example, in the two Syr., Arab., Copt , Ethiop., Armen., 
Slavonic; though some printed editions of the two latter and of the 
Peshitta insert it. 

3. Ancient Greek Fathers have never quoted it in any of their 
arguments for the doctrine of the Trinity. Verses 6, 8, 9 are quoted 
more than once, but verse 7 never. 


In favour of its genuineness it may be said, 


1. That it is inserted in some Greek (cursive) MSS., in the Codex 
Ravianus at Berlin, the Codex Ottobianus in the Vatican, the C. Regius 
at Naples, and the C. Montfortianus at Dublin, concerning which, 
however, it is remarked, that the first is a copy from the Compluten- 
sian ; that the second is simply a translation from the Vulgate ; and 
that the third has the passage written, not in the text, but in the 
margin. The fourth belongs to the fifteenth century, or later, and is 
therefore modern, being evidently taken from the Latin *. 

2. It is found in a MS. of extracts from the Old Latin (‘ Speculum ’) 
belonging to the sixth or seventh century ; also in most MSS. of the 
Latin Vulgate after the ninth century. 


* Erasmus, when reproached for omitting the text from his edition, 
rashly promised to insert it if a single Greek MS. containing it could 
be produced. In reply to his challenge a ‘codex Britannicus’ was 
brought to light: and accordingly in his next edition (the third) 
he included the passage. The MS. is identified as the Montfortianus. 


APPLICATION OF CRITICAL CANONS 83 


3. It is cited by Vigilius of Thapsus towards the end of the fifth 
century, as well as (apparently) by Tertullian and Cyprian, whose 
citations, however, are really of other passages. A recently discovered 
treatise by Priscillian (near the end of the fourth century) also con- 
tains the passage. 

4. It is quoted in a Confession of Faith, given in the history of the 
Vandalic persecution in Africa, and said to have been presented by 
a body of Christians in the year 484. This alleged fact, however, is 
not sufficient to weaken the positive evidence; and is, moreover, 
itself doubtful. 

5. It is said to be required by the construction and connexion of the 
passage : an argument of which the English reader can himself judge, 


The general judgement of Biblical scholars is expressed 
by Dr. Scrivener: ‘We need not hesitate to declare our 
conviction that the disputed words were not written by 
St. John; that they were originally brought into Latin 
copies in Africa from the margin, where they had been 
placed as a pious and orthodox gloss on verse 8; that from 
the Latin they crept into two or three late Greek codices, 
and thence into the primitive Greek text, a place to which 
they had no rightful claim.’ 


64. For full discussion of other disputed passages it must 
suffice to refer the student to such treatises on Textual 
Criticism as those by Scrivener, Hort, Kenyon, and Nestle. 
A few of peculiar interest may be named, for which the 
conflicting evidence will be found presented in a manner 
accessible to the general reader, in the smaller manuals by 
Warfield and Hammond. 

I. Passages bearing on the Deity of our Lord. 


Jn 118, The Received Text has ‘the only begotten Son’: but the 
evidence is probably decisive for the striking reading of R. V. margin, 
“Gad only-begotten’ (uovoyer7js Oeds). 

Ac 20°§ ‘to feed the Church of God, which He purchased with His 
own blood’ (R. V.). Here the many variants resolve themselves into 
a doubt as between ‘the Church of God’ (rod @e00) and ‘the Church of 
the Lord’ (rot xupiov). See § 62, 6. 

t Tim 3° ‘God (@eés) was manifested in the flesh’ must probably 


G2 


84 TEXT OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


give way to ‘who (s) ’ or ‘which (6) was manifested in the flesh.’ If 
és is the true reading the difference is simply between OC and OC. 
Compare § 57, 1. 


2. Retention or omission of continuous passages. 


Among the most important are the following :— 

Mk 16°~*°, surrendered by almost all critics, 

Jn 7°°-8"!, the section on the woman taken in adultery. 

These passages rest on authority of various weight. Even where 
they must be pronounced to be no part of the apostolic text, they may 
embody a true apostolic tradition, as in the first of these cases. Per- 
haps the most noteworthy example of a similar kind is one which has 
found its way into one MS. only: Codex Bez (D), after Lu 6°, ‘On 
the same day, beholding one working on the Sabbath, He said to him: 
Man, if indeed thou knowest what thou art doing, blessed art thou; 
but if thou knowest not, thou art accursed, and a transgressor of the 
law 8. ‘ 


* Bishop Westcott, Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, Appendix C, 
gives an interesting list of ‘traditional accounts of words or works of 
our Lord not noticed in the Gospels’; the chief, of course, being 
Ac 20%, With these may be compared the Logia discovered in the 
Oxyrhynchus collection of papyri in 1896 and 1903, by Messrs. Grenfell 
and Hunt. See § 41. 


CHAPTER V 


THE CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS 
OF THE BIBES 


‘This reverence have I learnt to give to those books of Seripture 
only which are called canonical. Others Iso read that I think not 
anything to be true because they so thought it, but because they were 
able to persuade me either by those canonical authors, or by some 
probable reason that it did not swerve from truth.’—AveusTINE, Ep. 19. 

‘Tf those facts (on the origin, nature, and progress of the Christian 
religion) are not therefore established, nothing in the history of man- 
kind can be believed.’— Cuter Justice BusHE. 


The Claims of the Scriptures themselves 


In proving the genuineness of the books of Scripture, 
nothing has been said of their Divine authority. Their 
supreme claims must now be gathered from the books 
themselves ; and the evidences in support of these claims 
must be next considered. 


65. The Testimony in detail.—A little attention will 
easily satisfy the reader of the truth of the following state- 
ments :— 

1. The books of Scripture represent the mission of our 
Lord as Divine. He professes to be a Teacher sent from 
God, and from the first announces that He is to give His 
life for the salvation of the world. Jn 8¥ 7!% 17° 314471. 


In proof of His mission, He performed many miraculous works, and 
showed supernatural acquaintance with the human heart and with 
future events. Mt 112-® Jn 556 6° 15°# 169° Mt 201! Lu 19!2-*4, 

Those who knew Him best and were least favourably disposed 
towards Him were unable to account from natural causes for His 
power and wisdom. Mk 6° Lu 4°? Jn 7). 

His public life was self-denying and disinterested : His private life 
blameless and beneficent. 1 Pet 2??5 Mt 27°4 Ac 1088 Jn 4°! 615 7/8, 





86 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


He was put to death (as He foretold) for making Himself ‘ equal 
with God’—a charge He did not deny ; and after His death He arose 
from the grave. Lu 227° Jn 20% Ac 1°, 

On these grounds we conclude that His words are to be received as 
Divine. Jn rot? 14191! Mt 175. 


2. They represent the commission of the Apostles as 
Divine. Out of the writers of the New Testament, three, 
John and Peter, with the reputed author of the first Gospel®, 
were Apostles to whom Christ gave power to perform 
miracles and to publish His gospel to the world; while 
James and Jude, ‘the Lord’s brethren’ if not themselves 
of the Twelve, were closely associated with them. Mt 
Zo” *-1.8 Tin 9°, 


He promised to them in this character, on more than one occasion, 
the presence of a Divine Instructor, who should recall to their 
remembrance what He Himself had taught, and impart a more com- 
plete and permanent knowledge of His truth. Mt ro™° Lu 1212 
Mk 13" Lu 2115 Jn 14-16: see also Mt 288? (Mk 16) Ac 1‘ 
t Pet 17°. 

The Apostles proved their commission by miracles, which they per- 
formed in the name and by the power of Christ, and they imparted 
supernatural gifts to others. Ac 3'° Heb 2 Ae 5!*16 (Mk 16'*'*) 
Ac'3e, 

Their mission was attested by holy self-denial and integrity of pur- 
pose, and by the rapid and (humanly speaking) the unaccountable 
success of their ministrations. Ac 2f! 4!® 5°° 12°4, 

We therefore conclude that Divine authority is claimed for the 
teachings of Matthew, John, Peter, James, and Jude. Jn 14%7'* 20°! 
1 Jn 4°, 

The Gospels of Mark and Luke were written by companions of the 
Apostles : Mark, the convert of Peter (1 Pet 5'S),and Luke, the intimate 
friend of Paul (Ac 20%", &c.).. Papias (flourished 110), Justin (died 164), 
Irenzeus (A, D. 180), and Origen, all speak of Mark's Gospel as commonly 
received, and as having been dictated or sanctioned by Peter. 

Luke and Paul resided in Palestine for two years, travelled together 
during a large part of the Apostle’s journeys, and were together during 
Paul’s imprisonment at Rome. Ac 2117 27! 2816 Col 4 2 Tim 4". 

Irenzus, Tertullian, and Origen speak of Luke’s Gospel as univer- 
sally received and as sanctioned by Paul, 


* See Introduction to Matthew, Part LI. 


CLAIMS OF THE SCRIPTURES THEMSELVES 87 


3. They represent the commission of Paul as Divine. 
He was called to the apostolic office, claimed apostolic 
authority, vindicated his claims by niiracles, imparted super- 
natural gifts, manifested the utmost disinterestedness, sub- 
mitted to the severest sufferings, was acknowledged by the 
rest of the Apostles, and was eminently successful. He 
therefore claims to speak in Christ’s name, and his words 
have Divine authority. 1 Cor 15§ Ac g®-! 2615-18 2 Cor 
MeGale4 7 Cor 213 740 Ro 1515-2 Cor 12” Ae 19° 
spam ge = > Cor 1°,Gal 2° * 2 Cor 11° © 2 Cor 52° 
i Th 2}, 


4. They represent the apostolic writings generally as 
Divine. The apostolic writings were composed by Divine 
command, and in fulfilment of the commission their writers 
had received. 1 Th 441 Tim 4! Rev 19 Jn 20°! r Jn 5 
t Cor 14°", 


* The Apostles had the same object in view in their writings as in 
their preaching. Jude 3 Heb 132? 1 Jn 21-6, 

The writings of the Apostles set forth their verbal instructions in 
a permanent and condensed form, and they claim for both the same 
authoxiby.0s ph 35> x Jn 1 214-14 2 Pet 112-15 512 a) Th al 344 
1 Cor 15} (25). 

The writings of the Apostles were received by the first Christians as 
of equal authority with their preaching, and produced similar effects. 
Ac 15!%-3! 164 2 Cor 78° 2 Th 22. Compare 2 Pet 3!516 ‘the other 
Scriptures.’ 

66. Testimony of the New Testament to the Old.— 
5. The Jewish religion and the Jewish Scripture are 
represented in the New Testament as Divine. Christ 
Himself and the writers of the New Testament uniformly 
assume that the religion of the Jews was from God. See 
the words of Christ in Jn 4%", of Peter in Ac 3), of Paul 
in Ro ot. 

They acknowledge the Divine origin of the revelation given to 


Abraham and to Moses. To Abraham: Christ, in Jn 85°; Peter, in 
Ac 375; Paul, in Gal 31%. To Moses: Christ, in Mk 127°; John, in 


, 
Jn 127; Paul, in 2 Cor 3%. 
; ) 3 


~~ i 


88 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE - 


They acknowledge the Divine authority of the moral law and the 
Divine origin of the Jewish ritual and of the civil enactments of the 
Mosaic Law. Ritual law: Christ, in Lu 226; Peter, in x Pet 17°16 
(from Lev 1144); Paul, in Ro 77? (see verses 7, 12). Civil law: Christ, 
in Mt 15*; John, in Jn 19%; Paul, in 1 Cor 9*. 

They represent Christianity as the completion of Judaism, and as 
foretold by the prophets, The Old Testament writers at the same 
time acknowledge that what they spoke or wrote was given to them 
from God, and published by His command. Christ, in Mt 57 265%; 
Peter, in Ac 10%; Paul, in Ro 374 2 Cor 3°", See Ex q!*'16 Dt 188 
Jer 17 Am 3, &e. 

They maintain the Divine authority of the ancient Jewish Scrip- 
tures under the threefold division of the Law, the Prophets, and the 
Psalms, and under other equally familiar titles, ascribing all to the 
Holy Ghost. Mt 22'° Heb 13° Ac 28% Jn 1o* Gal 3° Heb 3” (comp. 4’) 
r Pet 1, 

‘The Bible of the Jews in our Lord’s time was practically our Old 
Testament. For us its supreme sanction is that which it received _ 
from Christ Himself. It was the Bible of His education and the 
Bible of His ministry. He took for granted its fundamental doctrines 
about creation, about man, and about righteousness; about God's 
Providence of the world, and Ilis purposes of grace through Israel. 
He accepted its history as the preparation for Himself, and taught His 
disciples to find Him init. He used it to justify His mission and to 
illuminate the mystery of His Cross. He drew from it many of the 
examples and most of the categories of His gospel. He re-enforced the 
essence of its law and restored many of its ideals. But, above all, He 
fed His own soul with its contents, and in the great crises of His life 
sustained Himself upon it as upon the living and sovereign Word of 
God. These are the highest external proofs—if, indeed, we can call 
them external—for the abiding validity of the Old Testament in the 
life and doctrine of Christ’s Church. What was indispensable to the 
Redeemer must always be indispensable to the redeemed *.’ 


67. Genuineness involves Authenticity. All that has 
been advanced thus far on the authority of Scripture is 
taken from Scripture itself. We have already seen that 
if Scripture is genwine, it is likewise authentic. 

The truth of the general narrative is involved in the very 
proofs of the genuineness of the record. For the books are 


* Prof. G. Adam Smith, Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old 
Testament, p. I1. 


CLAIMS OF THE SCRIPTURES THEMSELVES 89 


quoted and copied as history, and were received as such, 
while witnesses of most of the transactions they describe 
were living. That Palestine was under the Roman yoke, 
that during the reign of Herod Christ was born, that He 
professed to be a teacher sent from God, that He claimed the 
power of working miracles, that these miracles were always 
beneficent, that they sustained a morality altogether un- 
known to the Gentiles, and novel even to the Jews, that He 
had several followers, that He was put to death under 
Pontius Pilate, that many hundreds, believing Him to have 
risen from the dead, became His disciples, that in the course 
of a few years His disciples were scattered over the whole 
Roman world, that, in short, all the main statements of the 
Gospel history are facts, is involved in the truth of the 
narrative independently of that spiritual significance which 
is a matter of interpretation. 


Testimonies.—The attestation to the genuineness of the New 
Testament history, already briefly noted in §§ 35-38, may be thus sum- 
marized. In the first four centuries we have upwards of fifty authors 
who testify to facts told or implied in the gospel narrative. The 
whole or fragments of the writings of these authors remain. The 
writings of about fifty others referred to by Jerome (a.D. 392) have 
perished. These authors belong to all parts of the world, from the 
Euphrates to the Pyrenees, from Northern Germany to the African 
Sahara. They speak the Syrian, the Greek, and the Latin tongues. 
They represent the belief of large bodies of professed Christians, and 
no less the admissions of multitudes who were not Christians. They 
agree in quoting Scripture as genuine and true. They refer to it as 
a distinct volume, universally received. They comment upon it and 
expound it. They refer to it as Divine. Versions from very early 
times attest the reception of the books in the various churches. 
Heretics who separated from the great body of the faithful received 
the narrative of the facts, and differed only on the doctrines which 
they supposed those facts to embody; and even infidels who denied 
the faith founded their denial upon the very facts which our present 
record contains. ‘ At a time when some have doubted whether our 
Gospels were born their children were already full grown.’ So general 
had a belief of the facts of the gospel become, that we find Justin 
Martyr (c Trypk. exvii.) observing that in every nation prayers and 


= 


90 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


thanksgivings were offered to the Father by the name of Jesus; while 
only fifty years later Tertullian states that in almost every city 
Christians formed the majority. 

Heathen and Jewish writers, without speaking of the New Testa- 
ment, and without giving direct evidence therefore of its genuineness, 
confirm in a general way the narratives of the life of our Lord and of 
His disciples, or incidentally illustrate them. Josephus in his 
Antiquities (c. A. D. 93), Tacitus in his History (a.p. 100), Suetonius in 
his Biographies (a. D. 117), Juvenal in his Satires (c. a. D. 96), and Pliny 
in his Letfers (a. D. 103), severally confirm historical statements of 
the sacred story. Indeed there is no transaction of ancient history 
that can exhibit more than a fraction of the evidence by which the 
narrative of the Gospels is sustained. 

See the passages quoted in Lardner’s Credibility. 


Evidence: General View 


68. The Evidence Classified.—1. Presumprive. Ad- 
mitting the existence of a Being of infinite power and 
goodness, there are strong probabilities that He would not 
leave His creatures in ignorance and misery; and proba- 
bilities no less strong that any communication from Him 
would contain a distinct reference to their condition, and 
would present analogies to other works of the Creator. 
These probabilities form the preswmptive evidence of reve- 
lation. 


2. Positive. Evidence founded on revelation itself is 
called positive. 

(x) External. A message from another is evidently 
susceptible of a twofold evidence of truth; viz. credentials 
supplied by the messenger, and peculiarities or marks in the 
message itself. The credentials are external, and the marks 
are internal. In the case of Scripture the miraculous and the 
prophetic evidences are external, the moral and spiritual 
are internal. Each kind of evidence abounds in directly 
spiritual instruction. Miracles prove at least that physical 
nature is not fate, nor a merely material constitution of 
things. Prophecy proves that the world of nature and 


EVIDENCE: GENERAL VIEW 91 


man is governed’ by a free and Almighty hand. Grave 
questions of natural religion are thus settled in the evi- 
dences of the revealed. The spiritual truth wrapped up 
both in prophecy and miracles, and the obviously holy 
tendency of the moral evidence of the Bible, will be apparent 
in the whole course of the argument. Contrary to what is 
sometimes affirmed, the devout study of the Christian 
evidences may become the means of spiritual improvement. 


Syllabus of evidences. The different evidences, then, of 
the truth of Scripture may be arranged as follows :— 


i. EXTERNAL Evidence: appealing to our senses. 

1. Drrecr: as in the miracles of our Lord, Jn 3° 5°° 
108? 1411, 

2. RETROSPECTIVE: as in the connexion of Christ with 
the miracles and prophecies of the Old Testament, 
Lu 2426.27 Jn 5‘. 

3. Prospective: as in the fulfilment of prophecy since 
the days of our Lord, Jn 14”. 


ii, INTERNAL: which is either 
a. Mora: appealing to our conscience ; consisting 
of the 
1. Mora precepts of the Bible. 
2. CHARACTER or ouR Lorp and of the inspired 
writers. 
3. CHARACTER AND LIVES OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS, 
and the general influence of truth. 
or b, SprriruaL: appealing to our intellectual per- 
ceptions and to our new nature generally. ir 
includes 
1. The Scrrerurat or Lirerary, or the wisdom 
and harmony of revealed truth, 
(1) In its different dispensations. 


‘oo a 
are 2 


. 


92 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


(2) In the various parts of the record, 
(3) With nature. 


2. The Exprermmentat. The Gospel felt to be 
adapted to our wants. 

3. The Sprirrrvau properly so called. The Bible 
consistent with the character and purpose of 
God. 


External Evidence. I. Miracle 


69. Miracles. The success of the gospel is connected in 
Seripture, and by all ancient Christian writers, with the 
possession, on the part of our Lord, of miraculous power. 


Two Questions. The evidence based upon our Lord’s 
miracles naturally divides itself into two parts: the evidence 
Jor Miracles ; did they really happen? and the evidence of 
Miracles ; what do they prove? ‘The stress of the argument 
has at different times been laid upon each question in turn. 
Perhaps the modern tendency has been rather to consider the 
former. But both are important. 


Exploded Objections. 1. The Miracles of Christ were 
well-attested facts. The proof of their occurrence has passed 
through many phases, to meet the ever-changing forms of 
scepticism. Many once familiar adverse arguments are now 
exploded. It is no longer possible to maintain that miracles 

~are impossible in the nature of things *, or that the record 
of miracles is due to conscious deception or imposture, or 
that miracle could not be proved by testimony. 

The ‘rationalistic»*® and the ‘ mythical’ theories of 

« ©No one is entitled to say a priori that any given so-called miracu- 
lous event is impossible.” Prof. Huxley, Essays upon some Controverted 
Topics. , 

> The rationalist school, of whom Paulus was the type, endeavoured 
to explain the miracles as ordinary facts exaggerated or misconceived. 


Thus, the turning of the water into wine meant but a genial way of 
making a present to the newly-married couple; the walking on the 


EXTERNAL EVIDENCE: MIRACLE 93 


miracle have alike disappeared; and so far at least the 
ground is clear®. The question that remains is whether for 
these wonderful facts there is adequate testimony ; and this 
witness, it may be added, is to be considered in the light of 
an antecedent probability, of which the Christian thinker 
must not lose sight—that the greatness of the purpose to be 
accomplished in the redemption of man was such as to 
warrant the expectation of a special Divine interposition. 
For miracle, rightly considered, is not a violation of the 
laws of Nature, as sometimes thoughtlessly stated, but 
a Divine act, by which He Who governs Nature puts forth 
His power in an extraordinary way, for a worthy purpose. 


70. The Evangelic Testimony. The evangelic history 
declares that such acts were wrought by Jesus Christ. 
Every argument therefore by which on general grounds the 
history is proved to be true, so far attests the miracles. In 
fact, the veracity of the record stands or falls with miracle. 
To His works our Lord repeatedly appealed, as works which 
none other man did, and as an evidence of His mission. 


sea was really walking on the shore, as seen by the spectators from the 
lake; the coin in the fish’s mouth was the price of fish caught by the 
disciples and sold in the market !—and so on. Dean Mansel justly 
says of this theory that it ‘breaks down under the sheer weight of its 
ecumbrous and awkward explanations.’ 

*® The mythical theory of Strauss and his followers was that meta- 
phor and allegory were prosaically turned into fact. Thus the deserip- 
tion of Christ’s disciples as fishers of men took shape in the stories of 
the miraculous draught of fishes; the illumination by Christ of the 
darkened understanding gave rise to the narratives of the opening of 
blind men’s eyes; as though it were possible that a mythical system 
should grow up unchallenged and uncontradicted in that era of the 
world’s history! There seem some indications of the revival of 
the long-abandoned hypothesis. Thus, the healing of the man by the 
Poot of Bethesda is made out to be a transformed parable of the state 
of the Jewish people, crippled and restored—for had not the man been 
suffering for thirty-eight years, and were not the Israelites thirty- 
eight years in the wilderness before entering the Land of Promise ? 

.~ A wonderful coincidence! 


94 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


He raised the dead, He healed the sick, not once only, but 
in many cases not individually recorded; for it is said 
frequently that they brought sick people unto Him, and that 
He healed them all. Mt 42* 12! 1414 15°° 197 &e,, Mk 1°43 
Lu 6'7 go}, 

He is declared to have given similar power to His disciples, 
first to the Twelve, and then to the seventy. After His 
departure His Apostles received the power of bestowing this 
miraculous gift on those upon whom they laid their hands ; 
so that many others were thus endowed. It is certain that 
the Apostles speak of it as a fact familiarly known, and 
reckon it among the signs of a Divinely appointed teacher. 


The Testimony sustained.—In truth this evidence can 
be set aside only by supposing a miracle greater than all. 
If Christ were not from God, we have a Jewish peasant 
changing the religion of the world, weaving into the story of 
his life the fulfilment of ancient predictions, and a morality 
of the purest order, as unlike the traditional teaching of his 
countrymen as it was superior to the precepts of Gentile philo- 
sophy; enduring with composure the most intense suffering, 
and inducing his followers to submit to similar privations, 
and many of them to a cruel death, in support not of opinions 
but of the alleged fact of his miraculous resurrection. 

We have then these followers, ‘unlearned men,’ going 
forth and discoursing on the sublimest themes, persuading 
the occupiers of Roman and Grecian cities to cast away 
their idols, to renounce the religion of their fathers, to 
reject the instructions of their philosophy, and to receive 
instead, as a teacher sent from heaven, a Jew of humble 
station who had been put to a shameful death. And all 
this mighty transforming influence based upon a series of 
delusions! To receive this explanation of the acknowledged 
facts is to admit a greater miracle than any which the Bible 
contains, 


EXTERNAL EVIDENCE: MIRACLE 95 


71. Meaning of Miracles.—What, then, do miracles 
prove? In a word, the presence and power of a Divine 
Agent. In the first ages of the Church it was common for 
adversaries to attribute the miraculous acts, the reality of 
which they could not question, to the power of evil spirits. 
The critics of our Lord set them the example, ‘ He casteth 
out demons by Beelzebub.’ But such an allegation is no 
longer possible. The conclusion of the Jewish ruler is yet 
more cogent in the light of modern philosophy than when 
he gave it utterance, ‘No man can do these signs that 
Thou doest, except God be with him.’ 


A revelation of the Divine.—And this argument is 
fortified by the consistency of these wondrous works with 
the character of God, and the great design of the Gospel. 
They were not only ‘marvels’ (répara) and ‘deeds of power’ 
(dvvapers), but ‘signs’ (cypeta) of deep moral and spiritual 
meaning. It has been well said that ‘every miraculous 
act of Christ must be conceived of as congruous to His 
Messianic vocation and serviceable to the interests of the 
Divine kingdom. None of the miracles, of whatever class, 
can be regarded as mere displays of power; they must all 
be viewed as arising naturally out of their occasions, and 
serving a useful purpose in connexion with Christ’s work 
as the Herald and Founder of the kingdom of Heaven 2%.’ 
They begin with a stupendous moral miracle, greater than 
any physical wonder, the existence on earth of a perfectly 
sinless, holy being, and they harmonize with the character 
and purposes of such a life. 


A symbol of spiritual power.—Miracles also symbolize, 
while they attest, the ‘greater works,’ the opening of the 
eyes of the spiritually blind, the unsealing of the ears which 
sin had deafened to the truth, the liberation of the paralyzed 
spirit to run in the way of God’s commandments, and the 


* Dr. A. B. Bruce, The Miraculous Element in the Gospels, p. 207. 


96 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


quickening of those who were dead in trespasses and sins, 
The physical becomes spiritual in view of the preceding 
argument: ‘That ye may know that the Son of Man hath 
power on earth to forgive sins . . . I say unto thee, Arise 
and walk.’ 


External Evidence. II. Prophecy 


72. Prophecy as Evidence.—The nature and purport 
of Scripture prophecy in general will be shown in the 
sections on Interpretation; and the Introductions to the 
several prophetic books, in the Second Part of this volume 
will indicate their respective character and scope. Prophecy 
is in this place regarded simply as evidence; and the follow- 
ing important facts must be borne in mind. 

I. Prophecy more than prediction.—Prophecy is much 
more than the prediction of future events. The prophet 
was gifted with inspired insight as well as with inspired 
foresight ; or in a yet deeper view we may say the latter 
was a consequence of the former. He was commissioned 
both (in Old English phrase) to ‘ forth-tell’ and to foretell. 
To him it was granted to discern the truth and tendency 
of events around him, to look through the appearances 
and passions of the hour to the purposes of the Eternal 
Mind. 


2. Relation to the present.— Hence, the standpoint of 
the prophet was in the present. So only could he be under- 
stood by those to whom his message came. He had to set 
forth the eterna! law of righteousness, to denounce the sins 
of the age, declaring the just judgements of God, and calling 
the people to repentance. But the present was only a 
moment in the progress of the Divine plan. There was 
a purpose working steadily, though often silently and 
mysteriously, towards a destined end. That destination 
was the establishment of God’s kingdom upon earth—the 
reign of righteousness—the achievement of redemption. 


EXTERNAL EVIDENCE: PROPHECY oF 


3. The prophetic function.— Hence the prophet was 
the teacher of Israel, the social reformer, the statesman, 
the herald of the coming time. His revelations of the 
future, as they came to pass from age to age, prove the 
Divine intent and authenticate his own mission. And 
at the same time, prophecy carried with it a self-attestation 
no less striking than that witness to its truth which the 
future alone could disclose. 


4. The Prophets’ claim.— With one consent they regard 
themselves as spokesmen of God. Their formula is, ‘Thus 
saith Jehovah,’ ‘The word of Jehovah came,’ ‘ Hear ye the 
word of Jehovah.’ They are constrained into their ministry, 
often against their will. Moses protests that he is ‘slow 
of speech and of a slow tongue.’ Isaiah trembles before the 
vision in which he heard his call, because he is a man of 
unclean lips, and dwells in the midst of a people of unclean 
lips. Jeremiah shrinks from the task entrusted to him: 
‘Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, I cannot speak ; for I am a 
child’: Ezekiel is warned that his mission will be as 
though briers and thorns were with him and he dwelt 
among scorpions. ‘Yet the distinguishing characteristic of 
the prophets, first of their speech and actions and after- 
wards of their writings, was the firm and unwavering belief 
that they were instruments or organs of the Most High, 
and that the thoughts which arose in their minds about 
Him and His Will, and the commands and exhortations 
which they issued in His Name, really came at His prompt- 
ing, and were really invested with His authority. There 
is no alternative between accepting this belief as true and 
regarding it as a product of mental disease or delusion *.’ 


5. Intrinsic character.—Beyond the prophets’ claim to 
inspiration and its acceptance by their hearers, there is the 
appeal their writings make to mind and heart and conscience. 


* Sanday, Inspiration, p. 394. 
H 


et 3 
98 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


Each of them may fearlessly say to us, as Paul said to the 
Corinthians, ‘Judge ye what I say.’ Their word is its own 
sufficient witness to its Divine origin. Its conception of 
God, its interpretation of life, its promise of the Christ, all 
bear the stamp of revelation. It gives a view of redemption 
as the final goal of the world’s history, which is no human 
invention, but attests itself as the word of the world’s 
Redeemer. On the Hebrew prophets alone, of all religious 
teachers, we are compelled to pass the verdict, ‘Holy men 
of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.’ 


73. Fulfilment.—So far, prophecy has been spoken of 
as its own witness. But there was a further testimony to 
its truth in its announcement of things to come—a testimony 
for the most part reserved for the interpretation of Time. 
Yet there was sufficient of speedy—even immediate —ful- 
filment to authenticate their Divine calling and to justify 
their challenge to false prophets to declare things to come. 
The prophet, as preacher of righteousness, declared inevitable 
judgement upon the nation’s sin; a prediction fulfilled in 
the near future in one disaster after another, and in the 
crowning calamity of the Exile. See Is 42° 43° 447.8 48° 
Eze 12° Am 3’ Hab 2° This was no mere soothsaying, 
but the unveiling of a Divine ‘increasing.purpose.’ And 
to understand aright the ‘evidence from prophecy’ we 
must survey the whole scheme; while at the same time our 
sense of the presence and action of the Divine Mind is 
deepened by individual, isolated foreshadowings of things 
to come, in minute detail, and sometimes startling ac- 
cordance with the far-off event. The popular view fixes 
especially upon these last as evidence, but the main stress 
of the argument still rests upon the whole course of the 
prophetic revelation. 


The Messianic hope.—There was one element in the 
prophet’s message in which prediction does look out far into, 


EXTERNAL EVIDENCE: PROPHECY 99 


the future, an element not of warning, but of promise. No 
apostasy could quench his belief in the ultimate redemption 
of Israel. To him the gifts and calling of God were without 
repentance, and with magnificent optimism he declares 
a future for the nation more glorious than was dreamt of in 
the very height of its prosperity and greatness. For God 
was not only the ‘Holy One of Israel’: He was a God of 
grace, pardoning iniquity, delighting in mercy. To minds 
thus prepared was imparted the Messianic hope, that most 
characteristic and vital feature of prophecy, slowly develop- 
ing, taking on new aspects as it grew, becoming ever fuller 
and clearer. The time was not revealed, the details are not 
precisely given. As Peter put it, ‘Concerning which salva- 
tion the prophets sought and searched diligently, who 
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching 
what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ 
which was in them did point unto, when it testified before- 
hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should 
follow them ®*.’ 

This Messianic prediction was the expression of an inspired, 
invincible faith in the faithfulness of God, and was slowly 
brought into shape under successive phases of the nation’s 
life and the nation’s need. Its fulfilment lies, not only in the 
accord we may trace between this or that isolated utterance 
and certain details of the history of the birth and life and 
death of our Lord, but in Jesus Christ Himself as the one 
Saviour of men and the Founder of the kingdom of God. 

‘How are we to bring together those two parallel lines of prophecy 
which exist side by side in the Old Testament, but nowhere meet, the 
ideal King, the descendant of David, and the ideal Prophet, the 
suffering Servant of Jehovah? What have two such different con- 
ceptions in common with each other? They seem to move in different 
planes, with nothing even to suggest their coalescence. We turn the 
page which separates the New Testament from the Old. We look at 
the Figure which is delineated there, and we find in it a marvellous 

ain Pet ttt We 
H 2 


100 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE ~ 


meeting of traits derived from the most different and distant sources, 
from Nathan, from Amos, from First Isaiah, from Second Isaiah, from 
Zechariah, from Daniel, from the second Psalm, from the twenty- 
second, from the sixty-ninth, from the hundred and tenth. And 
these traits do not meet, as we might expect them to do, in some 
laboured and artificial compound, but in the sweet and gracious figure 
of Jesus of Nazareth—King, but not as men count kingship; crowned, 
but with the crown of thorns; suffering for our redemption, but 
suffering only that He may reign *.’ 

Thus may we find what gives unity amid diversity, and 
stamps all prophecy as inspired of God, as we read with 
understanding Christ’s own words, ‘These are they that 


bear witness of Me.’ 


Internal Evidence 


A larger branch of evidence remains—the moral, the lite- 
rary, and the spiritual, or (to apply one title to all) the internal. 

74. Morality of the Bible.—The first peculiarity of 
Scripture morality is the importance which is everywhere 
attached to holiness. Judging from what we know of 
systems of human origin, a religion from man would either 
have spent its force on ritual observance, or have allowed 
active service on its behalf to make amends for the neglect 
of other duties. Mohammedanism gives the highest place 
to those who fight and fall in conflict. Hinduism rewards 
most the observance of ritual worship. Jewish tradition 
taught that all Jews were certainly saved. The Scriptures, on 
the contrary, bring all men into the presence of a Being of 
infinite holiness, before whom the most exalted human 
characters fall condemned»; and they declare plainly, that 
nothing we can say or do in the cause of Christ can make 
up for the want of practical virtue. Those who have 
preached in the name of Christ are to be disowned if they 
be workers of iniquity °, and the reception of the true faith 


* Sanday, Inspiration, p. 404. > Job 40 Is 6° Dn 9° x Tim 1°. 
© Mt 72228 Lu 6*¢, 


INTERNAL EVIDENCE: BIBLE ETHICS 101 


makes Christian holiness only the more incumbent because 
it is only thus possible @, 


The kind of moral duty which the Scriptures teach is not such as 
man was likely to discover or toapprove. When our Lord appeared, 
the Romans were proud of their military glory, and the Greeks of 
their superior wisdom. Among the Jews a pharisaic spirit prevailed, 
and the whole nation was divided between opposing sects, all hating 
their conquerors, however, and the Gentile world at large. An 
enthusiast would certainly have become a partisan, and an impostor 
would have flattered each sect by exposing the faults of the rest, or 
the nation by condemning their conquerors. Our Lord came, on the 
contrary, aS an independent teacher, rebuked all error, condemned 
all the sects, and yet did nothing to court the favour of the people. 
His precepts, bidding men to return good for evil, to love their enemies, 
to be humble and forgiving, to consider every race and every station 
as on a level before God, were acceptable to none, and were yet 
repeated and enforced with the utmost earnestness and consistency. 

It may indeed be replied that men are always ready to commend 
a greater degree of purity than they are prepared to practise, and that 
ancient philosophers wrote treatises describing a much nobler virtue 
than was found among their countrymen. This is true, and if the 
Jewish fishermen had studied philosophy, it would not have been 
wonderful if they had taught a higher morality than men generally 
practised. But they were ‘ignorant men,’ and their precepts go not 
only beyond what men practised, but beyond what men approved. 
The gospel is not only better than human conduct, it is often contrary 
to it. The endurance of suffering, the forgiveness of injury, and the 
exercise of a submissive spirit were not only not practised, they were 
not admired ; and while the gospel teaches these duties, it exhibits 
them in combination with a spiritual heroism of which the world 
knows nothing, and which has ever been supposed inconsistent with 
the patient virtues which the Scriptures enjoin. 


The regulation of motive.—Add to these facts another, 
namely, that Scripture seeks to regulate the thoughts 
and motives of men, and is content with nothing less than 
a state of heart which refers all our actions to God’s will; 
and it must be felt that the morality of the gospel is not of 
man. Bad men could not have taught such truths, and 
good men would not have deceived the people ». 


ir Conse > See Paley, Evidences. 


ko, 3 





s 
= 


102 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE _ 


Sin in its relation to God.—But there is yet another 
peculiarity in the morality of Scripture, equally true in 
itself and striking. Sin is everywhere spoken of as an evil 
against God, and everywhere it is not the instrument or 
human agent who is exalted, but God alone. The first 
notion is inconsistent with all heathen philosophy, and the 
second with the natural tendency of the human heart. 
‘This,’ says Cicero, ‘is the common principle of all philo- 
sophers, that the Deity is never displeased, nor does He inflict 
injury on man’ (De Officiis, iii. 28). 

In Scripture, on the contrary, sin is represented as an 
evil and bitter thing, because it is dishonouring to God. This 
distinctly appears in the Old Testament, and indeed forms 
one of its most marked peculiarities. Hence the destruction 
of the Amalekites*, of Sennacherib», and Belshazzar°. 
Hence the abandonment of the Gentile world to a reprobate 
mind 4, Hence God’s controversy with the Jews® and with 
Moses‘. Hence Eli’s punishment and Dayid’s4, Hence 
also the calamities of Solomon, the division of his kingdom 
into Israel and Judah, and the captivity and destruction 
of both’. 

God alone is honoured. The great object of all the writers 
seems to be to lead men’s thoughts to Him. The false 
teacher gives out that he himself is some great one (Ac 8°), 
but in the Bible it is God only Who is exalted. This rule 
is illustrated in 

Moses, Dt 15! 233 38 482-88 Ex 188; Joshua, Jos 23°; David, 1 Ch 
29''4; Daniel, Dn 2°-25:30; Ezra, Ezr 7°°; Nehemiah, Ne 2°; Peter 
and John, Ac 3!2-1®; Paul, Ac 21! 1 Cor 3° 2 Cor 4’. 


Creation is represented, in the same way, as God in 


® Ex 17'6, marg. A.V. and R.V. b 2 Ki 192-87, © Dn 5%. 
@ Ro 121-28, * Heb 3”, f Num 20", 
®&iSa 229.80, h 2 Sate? (Ps 51%). 


' y Ki 18-4 9 Ki 17°49 2 Ch 3617 Lu 192-44 Ro 129, 


INTERNAL EVIDENCE: CANDOUR 103 


nature*: the revolutions and progress of kingdoms, as God 
in history >. 

Faith the principle of spiritual life.—It is in part with 
the view of strengthening the feelings which these peculi- 
arities produce, that faith is made the principle of obedience 
and success. In relation to God, faith is the confession of 
our weakness, and excludes all boasting; and yet in relation 
to success it is omnipotent; a truth as profoundly philo- 
sophical as it is spiritually important. And yet it is a truth 
revealed only in the Bible. 

Ro 37 Eph 2°? 1 Cor 129-3! Jn 1140 Is 7°. 

Candour of Scripture.—The candour and sincerity of 
the inspired writers are not less remarkable than their 
moral precepts, and are quite incompatible with either 
fanaticism or imposture. 


They denounce the sins of the people. ‘Ye have been rebellious 
against the Lord from the day that I knew you,’ says Moses (Dt 9*4), 
and all later writers give the same view. Judg 2! 1 Sa 12!2 Neg. 

The inspired historian records with all fullness the sins of the 
Patriarchs, Gen 1245 20, &e. ; of his grandfather Levi, Gen 49°~7 ; of 
his brother Aaron and of his elder sons, Ex 32 Lev 10; nor less plainly 
his own sins, Num 20!” 2712-14 Dt 32°). 

In the same spirit the Evangelists notice their own faults and the 
faults of the Apostles. Mt 26° Jn 1o® 1652 Mt 81026 1516 767-11 18° 
207°, Mark and Luke speak no less plainly. Mk 6°? 8! 9%? 54 rol4 
1457-47.66—72 7614 Ty 82425 940-45 7854 2024 o411, With equal truthfulness 
the Scriptures record the humiliation of our Lord, His sufferings and 
dejection. Mt 27% Heb 57. 

The Apostle Paul records without reserve the disorders of the 
ehurches which he himself had planted, and even adds that his own 
apostolic authority had been questioned among them. 1 Cor 1" 5! 
2 Cor 2* 115-28 7220, 


It is thus that simplicity distinguishes the Bible, and 
forces on the mind the conviction that its authors had no 
other object in view than ‘ by manifestation of the truth to 


@ Ps 104! Jer 5°* Joel 25-4 Mt 10°. 
> Jer 17°10 Dn 45 Jer 25° Is 447%. 


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104 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


commend themselves to every man’s conscience as in the 
sight of God.’ 


75. Comparison with human ethical systems.—But 
no analysis can give a just idea of the morality of the 
Bible. It must be compared in the bulk with other teach- 
ing. Men have praised maxims of virtue, or appealed to the 
moral sentiments of our nature, or sought to promote holi- 
ness by systems of morals. But all these are defective. The 
common maxims of virtue are mere dictates of prudence, 
without authority or influence. Our moral sentiments are 
retiring and evanescent, easily corrupted by the strong 
passions in whose neighbourhood they dwell, and are feeblest 
when most wanted; and systems of morals, like all pro- 
cesses of reasoning, depend on the perfection of our faculties, 
and are too much the subject of disputation to become 
powerful motives of holy action. All these plans, moreover, 
are defective in not taking into account our fall, and the 
necessity of providing for our recovery. Scripture, on the 
other hand, teaches the Christian to use these helps, only 
subordinating all to its own lessons. It begins its work 
with a recognition of our ruin, and an intelligent foresight 
of its own end; brings the soul into harmony with God 
and with itself, enlightens and educates the conscience, 
quickens and purifies the feelings, subjects instincts to 
reason, reason to love, and all to God; and provides an 
instrumentality as effective and practical as the truths it 
reveals and on which it rests are unearthly and sublime. 


76. The Character of our Lord.—Among the most 
decisive moral proofs of the Divine origin of Scripture 
is the character of Christ. It is a proof, however, rather 
to be felt than to be described, and its foree will be in 
proportion to the tone of moral sentiment in the reader. 


Holy and pure minds will feel it more than others; and’ 


such as are like Nathanael, the ‘Israelite indeed, in whom 


CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST 105 


is no guile,’ will exclaim with him, ‘Rabbi, Thou art the 
Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.’ 

- Three things are obvious in the history of our Lord. 
(1) The whole narrative is free from panegyric. (2) The 
character is wholly unstudied: the story being written by 
unpractised authors, without learning or eloquence; and 
moreover (3) the moral character of Christ is unimpeached 
even by the opponents of the Gospel. His Apostles appeal 
to all men’s testimony to His purity of life, as a fact admitted 
and notorious. His own moral teaching was an appeal of 
the same kind, for had He been guilty of the practices He 
condemns, His hearers would have been sure to detect and 
reproach His inconsistency. 


That His holiness was admitted generally will appear from the 
following passages: Jn 8*° r0*? Mt 2659-60 2725-24 Ty 231-5 Ac 314 
1 Pet 21-85, His benevolence and compassion are shown in Jn 4 
Lu 9% 1080-37 Mk 726 & yolS-21 45-52 Ty 1316 yl? 225051 Mt 936 &e 
184“c. His kindness and affection, in Mt 1427-31 Lu 19™41 208 Jn rr 
1927, His meekness and humility, in Mt 5)? 978 1822 “* Lu 22% 
Jn 13*. His moral courage, firmness, and resignation, in Mt 26%'—*° 
Mk 10% Lu 428 &% yo8t &e. 7g29 &e. Jn x17 18! “ec: His sincerity and 
abhorrence of hypocrisy and courting popularity, in Mt 6'~'* rolés? 
22l8 &e. Mk re-40 Tu ri &- Jn 16* His moderation and 
the absence of enthusiastic austerity in Mt 8'° 237° Mk 12!” Tu 529-35 
Jn 2! &e. 

‘The character of Christ,’ it has been well said, ‘is a wonderful 
proof of the Divinity of the Bible. The Hindu cannot think of his 
Brahmin saint, other than as possessing the abstemiousness and 
austerity which he admires in his living models. The Socrates of 
Plato is composed of elements practically Greek, being a compound 
of the virtues deemed necessary to adorn the sage. A model of the 
Jewish teacher might easily be drawn from the writings of the 
Rabbis, and he would prove to be the very reflection of those Scribes 
and Pharisees who are reproved in the Gospel. But in the life of our 
Redeemer a character is represented which departs in every way 
from the national type of the writers, and from the character of all 
ancient nations, and is at variance with all the features which custom, 
education, religion, and patriotism seem to have consecrated as most 
beautiful. Four different authors have recorded different facts, but 
they exhibit the same conception, a conception differing from all they 






106 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 





had ever witnessed or heard, and necessarily copied from the same 
original. And more, this glorious character, while borrowing nothing 
froni the Greek, or Indian, or Jew, having nothing in common with 
established laws of perfection, is yet to every believer a type of 
excellence. He is followed by the Greek, though a founder of none 
of his sects, revered by the Brahmin, though preached by one of the 
fishermen caste, and worshipped by the red man of Canada, though 
belonging to the hated pale race.’ 


77. The Character of Christians.—One point more 
remains on the morality of Scripture: the effect of its 
religion on the character of men. 

Apart from particular facts in support of this truth, it 
is generally admitted that the doctrines of the Bible agree 
with its precepts, and that they contain, in their very - 
substance, urgent motives to holiness. 

We confine ourselves to a few facts in illustration of this 
general truth. The effects of the gospel in the first age are 
well known, and are incidentally told us in the Epistles. 
Paul has pointed out what occurred at Corinth and Ephesus®, 
and Peter the effects which were produced in Pontus and 
Galatia, Ina dissolute age, and under the worst govern- 
ments, Christians (who had been no better than their 
neighbours) reached an eminence in virtue which has never 
perhaps been surpassed, 

Similar appeals may be found in the writings of the early apologists. 
Clement of Rome (a. D. 100), in his Epistle to the Corinthians, commends 
their virtues. ‘Who,’ says he, ‘did ever live among you, that did 
not admire your sober and moderate piety, and declare the greatness 
of your hospitality ? You are humble and not proud, content with the 
daily bread which God supplies, hearing diligently His word, and en- 
larged in charity.’ Justin Martyr (a.p. 146), who had been a Platonic 
philosopher, says in his Apology, xvi, ‘We who formerly delighted in 
licentiousness, now observe the strictest chastity: we who used the 
charms of magic, have devoted ourselves to the true God, and we who 
valued money and gain above all things, now cast what we have in 


common, and distribute to every man according to his necessities.’ 
‘You (says Minucius Felix to a heathen opponent) punish wickedness 


® 1 Cor 6" Eph 4?° a}. > x Pet 43. 


EVIDENCE FROM CHRISTIAN CHARACTER 107 


when it is committed, we think it sinful to indulge a sinful thought. 
It is with your party that the prisons are crowded, but not a single 
Christian is there, except it be as a confessor or apostate.’ Tertullian, 
the first Latin ecclesiastical writer whose works have come down to us 
(A.D. 200), makes a similar appeal, and speaks of great multitudes of 
the Roman empire as the subjects of this change. Origen, in his 
Reply to Celsus (A. D. 246), Lactantius, the preceptor of Constantine (a. D. 
325), repeat these appeals : and even the Emperor Julian holds up Chris- 
tians to the imitation of Pagans, on account of their love to strangers 
and to enemies, and on account of the sanctity of their lives. 

The unknown author of the Leiter to Diognetus (about a. D. 150) writes 
to the same effect. ‘Christians,’ he says, ‘find themselves in the 
flesh, yet they live not after the flesh. Their existence is on earth, 
but their citizenship isin heaven. They obey the established laws, 
and they surpass the laws in their own lives. They love all men, 
and they are persecuted by all. They are evil spoken of, and yet 
they are vindicated. They are reviled, and they bless; they are 
insulted, and they respect. Doing good, they are punished as evil- 
doers; being punished, they rejoice, asif they were thereby quickened 
by life’ (Bishop Lightfoot’s translation). 

The influence of the gospel was early seen among ancient nations. 
In Greece, the grossest impurities had been encouraged by Lycurgus 
and Solon. At Rome they were openly practised and approved. 
Among nearly all ancient nations self-murder was commended. 
Seneca and Plutarch, the elder Pliny and Quintilian, applaud it, and 
Gibbon admits that heathenism presented no reason against it. 
Human sacrifice and the exposure of children were allowed and even 
enforced. But wherever the gospel came, it condemned these prac- 
tices, discouraged, and finally destroyed them. That it was not 
civilization that suppressed them is certain, for they were kept up by 
nations far superior to the Christians in refinement, and the suppres- 
sion of them was always found to keep pace with the progress, not of 
human enlightenment, but of Divine truth. 

The relief of distress and the care of the poor are almost peculiar to 
Christian nations. In Constantinople there was not, before Chris- 
tianity was introduced, a single charitable building: nor was there 
ever such a building in ancient Rome. After the introduction of 
Christianity, however, the former city had more than thirty buildings 
for the reception of orphans, of the sick, of strangers, of the aged, and 
of the poor. In Rome, there were twenty-five large houses set apart 
for the same purpose. With equal certainty, it can be established 
that the gospel has abolished polygamy, mitigated the horrors of war, 
redeemed captives, freed slaves, checked the spirit of feudal oppres- 
sion, and improved the laws of barbarous nations. ‘Truth and 





ett 


108 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 





Oy 


candour,’ says Gibbon, ‘must acknowledge that the conversion of 
these nations imparted many temporal benefits both to the Old and 
New World, prevented the total extinction of letters, mitigated the 
fierceness of the times, sheltered the poor and defenceless, and pre- 
served or revived the peace and order of civil society *.’ 

As therefore the providence of God is seen in the preservation of 
the Bible, so also is His grace in its effects: and those effects bear 
strong testimony to its Divine origin, 1 Th 1#" Gal 522, 


78. The Harmonies of Revelation.—On that part of 
the Scriptural evidence which is called the harmony of 
revealed truth, it is not possible to enlarge: and the subject 
has been fully discussed by various writers. 

On the agreement between the doctrines and peculiarities 
of Scripture and the facts of Nature, the Analogy of Bishop 
Butler is unrivalled. And since his time, ‘apologetic’ 
literature has abounded in the discussion of the coincidences 
between sacred and general history, with coincidences of a 
minute and statistical character, with the geography and 
natural history of Palestine, and on coincidences between 
various parts of the record itself. See also Ch. IX of the 
present work. 


These coincidences are literally innumerable, and are interwoven 
with the whole texture of Scripture. Some are apparently trifling, as 
when it is said that our Lord went down from Nazareth to Capernaum, 
and Dr. Clarke points out the graphic consistency of the phrase with 
the geography of that region. Others are deeply affecting, as when it 
is said that blood and water issued from the side of Jesus, and medical 
authorities affirm that if the heart is pierced or broken, blood and 
water flow from the wound. Some are critical, as when it is remarked 
that at no time after the destruction of Jerusalem could any known 
writers have written in the style of the books of the Bible : and that at 
no one time could these various books have been written. They are 


® Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, ch. 55. For a large collection of 
similar facts see Tholuck’s Essay, Nature and Influence of Heathenism, 
with the Apologies of early Christian writers, Déllinger’s Jew and Gentile 
at the Gates of the Christian Church, and Brace’s Gesta Christi. 

> See, especially, the edition of Paley’s Evidences, with Notes by Birks, 
also Paley’s Hore Pauline, with Hore Apostolice by Birks, published by 
the Religious Tract Society. 





INTERNAL EVIDENCE 109 


demonstrably the work of different authors and of different ages. 
Some are historical, as when it is noticed that, after the time of the 
Apostles, all writers applied the name Christian to designate the 
followers of Christ, a name never applied in the New Testament by 
Christians to designate one another : the very terms which the Apostles 
employ indicating that the new religion was the completion of the 
old—‘ chosen’ and ‘faithful.’ Some are religious, founded, that is, on 
the peculiarities of the religious system revealed, as when it is stated 
that the religion of the New Testament is the only one in which is 
omitted the one ordinance which would have been natural and accept- 
able to both Jews and Pagans, namely, the offering of animals in 
sacrifice ; an instructive omission. 

The effect of the whole is highly impressive, and is of itself a sufficient 
proof of the substantial credibility of the narrative and of the honesty 
of the authors. 

Some idea of Paley’s Hore Pauline may be gathered from an 
examination of the following passages, it being premised that the 
books quoted were written either by different authors, or at different 
times, and with altogether different purposes. 


Ro 1575-26 compared with Ac 207° 21! 241-19 y Cor 161-4 
2 Cor 8! 97. 

Ro 1671-% “ Ac 20+. 

Ro 118 1523.24 i Ac 1921. 

r Cor 427-19 Ac 192222, 

r Cor 1610-1 sf Ac 197 x Tim 4™. 

r Cor 1}? 36 rp Ac 1822-28 yo}, 

r Cor 97° cf Ac 16° 2175-26° 

ie (Oloye ret te 3A Ac 188 Ro 1678 x Cor 161°. 


A single instance may be added in detail. Barnabas (we are told) 
was a native of Cyprus, who sold his property and laid the money 
at the Apostles’ feet (Ac 45°57). We are told also, quite incidentally, 
that Mark was his nephew (Col 41°). Compare these facts with the 
following passages, where it is stated that John Mark went as far as 
Cyprus, his native country, and soon rejoined his mother at Jerusalem, 
greatly to the dissatisfaction of Paul; and how remarkable the con- 
sistency of the whole: 1 Cor 9&7 Ac 11°22 132-4 158759 and 138. ‘The 
harmony pervading everything connected with Barnabas,’ says Mr. 
Blunt, ‘is enough in itself to stamp the Acts of the Apostles as a history 
of perfect fidelity *.’ 

See Birks’ Hore Apostolice. Compare, in the same way, the abrupt 
termination of the history in Ac 8%, with Ac 21°. 


® Undesigned Coincidences, Part IV, § 35. 


Soe 


110 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


Spiritual Evidence 


79. Experimental Evidence.—In addition to the moral 
evidence of Scripture, evidence suggested by the morality 
of the New Testament, the character of our Lord, the candour 
and sincerity and self-denial of the first Christians, and the 
moral beauty of Christian principles, as illustrated in the 
lives of consistent believers, there is evidence directly 
spiritual. This evidence is partly appreciated by the in- 
tellect, but still more by the heart and conscience. So far 
as it treats of man as the gospel jinds him, it appeals equally 
to all; so far as it treats of man as the gospel forms him, 
it appeals only to the believer. To the first part of this 
evidence the Apostle refers in 1 Cor 14%°-?°; and to the 
second, in Ro 81° x Jn 52°. 


Scripture and Conscience.—This evidence consists, in. 


part, in the agreement between what the awakened sinner 
feels himself, and what the Bible declares him to be. The 
gospel proclaims the universal corruption of human nature. 
It speaks not only of acts of transgression, but of a deep and 
inveterate habit of ungodliness in the soul, and of the 
necessity of a complete renewal. If this description were 
felt to be untrue, if man were conscious of delight in 
submitting his will to God’s will, and in obeying commands 
which rebuke his selfishness and pride, he might at once 
discredit the truth of the gospel. But when he finds that 
the description answers to his own state, and that every 
attempt at closer examination only discovers to him the 
completeness of this agreement, he has in himself an evidence 
that this message is true. 


Scripture and Human need.—The second stage of the 
evidence is reached when a man finds that the provisions 
of the gospel are adapted to his state. He is guilty, and 
needs pardon. He is corrupt, and needs holiness, He is 


SPIRITUAL EVIDENCE 111 


surrounded by temptation, and needs strength. He is living 
ina world of vexation and change, and he needs some more 
satisfying portion than it can supply. He is dying, and he 
shrinks from death, and longs for a clear revelation of 
another life. And the gospel meets all these wants. It is 
a message of pardon to the guilty, of holiness to the aspiring, 
of peace to the tried, and of life to them that sit in the 
shadow of death. 


Scripture and Christian experience.— And whilst there 
is perfect adaptation to human want, no less striking is the 
agreement between the description given in the gospel of its 
results and the Christian’s experience. The effects of the 
belief of the truth are repeatedly portrayed in Scripture. 
Each promise is a prediction, receiving daily fulfilment. 
Penitence and its fruits, the obedience of faith and the 
increasing light and peace which it supplies, the power of 
prayer, the influence of Christian truth on the intellect, on 
the heart and the character, the struggles, and victories, 
and defeats even of the new life, all are described and con- 
stitute an evidence in the highest degree experimental ; an 
evidence which grows with our growth, and multiplies with 
every step of our progress in the knowledge and love of the 
truth. Such insight into our moral being, and such know- 
ledge of the changes which religious truth is adapted to 
produce, could never emanate from human wisdom, and they 
prove that God Himself is the Author of the book in which 
such qualities are disclosed. 


Value of this Evidence.— We repeat the caution, how- 
ever, that this evidence is chiefly of value for the confirmation 
of the faith of a Christian, because none else will appreciate 
or understand it. To such, however, this evidence is so 
strong as often to supersede every other. To the Christian, 
the old controversy between Christianity and infidelity has 
but little interest ; he already feels the truth which evidences 


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avia® 


112 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


seek only to prove; it seems needless to diseuss the reality 
of what he already enjoys; he has the ‘witness in himself :’ 
‘whether He be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing 
I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.’ 


The true method of Healing.—To the physician who is 
entrusted with the cure of some mortal disease, two courses 
are open. He may treat the symptoms, or he may treat the 
disease itself. If in fever he is anxious only to quench 
the thirst of his patient, or in apoplexy to excite the system, 
his treatment may be said to be adapted to the wants of the 
sufferer; but it is not likely to restore him. A sounder 
system treats the disease, and that medicine is the true 
specific which is adapted ultimately to remoye it. The 
evidence of the virtue of such a specific is, not its palatable- 
ness nor its power of exhilaration, but the steady continued 
improvement of the health of the patient; an evidence 
founded on experience, and strongly confirming the proofs 
which had originally induced him to make the trial. 

And so of the gospel. It may exhilarate, and it may 
please the taste; but the evidence of its truth and of its 
being truly received is its tendency to promote our holiness. 


Summary 


80. The Evidence universally accessible.—‘ What then 
is the reason of our hope?’ is a question which every inquirer 
may ask and answer. All the answers of which the question 
admits no one can be expected to give, for a full investiga- 
tion of Christian evidences would occupy a lifetime; but it 
is easy to give such an answer as shall justify our faith, 
Christianity and the Christian books exist, and have existed 
for the last eighteen hundred years. Christian and secular 
writers agree in this admission. The great Founder of our 
faith professedly wrought miracles in confirmation of His 


rs 


SUMMARY 113 


message, and gave the same power to His Apostles. They 
all underwent severe suffering, and some of them died in 
testimony of their belief of the truths and facts they de- 
livered. These facts, and the truths founded on them, the 
Apostles and first Christians embraced in spite of the oppos- 
ing influences of the religious systems in which they had 
been trained.. The character and history of the Founder of 
the faith were foretold many hundreds of years before in 
the Jewish Scriptures. He taught the purest morality. He 
Himself gave many predictions, and these predictions were 
fulfilled. His doctrines changed the character of those who 
received them, softened and civilized ancient nations, and 
have been everywhere among the mightiest influences in 
the history of the human race. They claim to be from God, 
they support their claim by innumerable evidences, and we 
must either admit them to be from God, or ascribe them to 
a spirit of most marvellous imposition. Add to all this, that 
he who receives them has in himself additional evidence of 
their origin and holiness, and can say from experience, 
“We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us 
an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and 
we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. 
This is the true God, and eternal life’ (r Jn 5°). 

These facts are not abstruse, but accessible to all, and 
intelligible to the feeblest. For the candid inquirer, any one 
department of this evidence will often prove sufficient: no 
other religious system being founded on miracles and pro- 
phecy, or exhibiting such holiness and love. The whole 
evidence combined is overwhelmingly conclusive. 

81. Hindrances to the reception of Evidence. aK 
yet there is, in relation to these evidences, much unbelief 
both among inquirers and professed Christians. Among 
inquirers unbelief may be due to want of candour and teach- 
ableness: a fact which is itself an evidence of the truth of 
Scripture, and in harmony with the general dealings of God. 

I 


— 
114 CREDENTIALS AND CLAIMS OF THE BIBLE 


In common life, levity, or prejudice, or carelessness will 
often lead men astray, and even make them incapable of 
ascertaining what is really wise and true. And Scripture 
has expressly declared that those who will not love truth, 
shall not understand it. So deeply did Grotius feel this 
consideration, that he regarded the power of Christianity to 
test men’s character and hearts as itself an evidence of the 
Divine origin of the Gospel, being divinely adapted to test 
men’s character and hearts *. 

Among professed Christians, too, there is want of confi- 
dence in the fullness of the Christian evidence, and conse- 
quent want of inquiry. Baxter acknowledged that while in 
his younger days he was exercised chiefly about his own 
sincerity, in later life he was tried with doubts about the 
truth of Scripture. Further inquiry, however, removed 
them. The evidence which he found most conclusive was 
the internal: such as sprang from the witness of the Spirit 
of God with his own. ‘The spirit of prophecy,’ says he, 
‘was the first witness: the spirit of miraculous power, the 
second; and now,’ he adds, ‘we have the spirit of renova- 
tion and holiness.’ ‘ Let Christians therefore,’ he concludes, 
‘tell their doubts, and investigate the evidence of Dive 
truth, for there is ample provision for the removal of 
them all.’ 

Most of the doubts which good men feel may be thus 
dispelled. Others, chiefly speculative, may in some cases 
remain, and are not to be dispelled by the best proofs. Even 
for these, however, there is a cure. Philosophy cannot solve 
them; but prayer and healthy exercise in departments of 
Christian life to which doubting does not extend can; or, 
failing to solve them, these remedies will teach us to think 
less of their importance, and to wait patiently for stronger 
light. Ours is a complex nature, and the morbid excitability 


* De Veritate Religionis Christiane, ii. § 19. See also Is 294 Dn ra’? 
Mt 678 rr°5 7311-12 Jn 3! 1 Cor 2'4 2 Cor 44 2 Tim 3". 


SUMMARY. 115 


of one part of our frame may often be cured by the increased 
activity of another. An irritable faith is a symptom of 
deficient action elsewhere, and is best cured by a more 
constant attention to practical duty. Difficulties which no 
inquiry can remove will often melt away amidst the warmth 
and vigour produced by active love. 


I2 


CHAPTER VI 
INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


‘Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so 
that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, 
is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an 
article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. 
In the name ofthe holy Scripture we do understand those canonical 
books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never 
any doubt in the Church.’—Articte VI oF THE CuuRCH oF ENGLAND. 

‘Are you persuaded that the Holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all 
doctrine required of necessity for eternal salvation through faith in 
Jesus Christ? and are you determined, out of the said Scriptures to 
instruct the people committed to your charge, and to teach nothing, as 
required of necessity to eternal salvation, but that which you shall 
be persuaded may be concluded and proved by the Scripture ?’—Form 
FOR THE ORDERING OF PRIESTS IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 

‘We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to 
a high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture: and the heayen- 
liness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrines, the majesty of the 
style, the consent of all the parts, the aspect of the whole (which is 
to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way 
of man’s salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the 
entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly 
evidence itself to be the word of God; yet, notwithstanding, our full 
preservation and allowance of the infallible truth and Divine authority 
thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness 
by and with the word in our hearts.’—WestmiInsTeR ASSEMBLY : Con- 
FESSION OF Farru, 


The Bible as Inspired 


82. The consideration of the particular evidences of the 
authenticity and claims of Scripture naturally leads to 
further and more general questions respecting the method 


THE BIBLE AS INSPIRED 117 


of its communication, and its special characteristics as the 
word of God. To the former part of this inquiry belongs 
the subject of Inspiration, to the Jatter that of Revetarion. 
The two terms indeed are often interchangeably employed. 
They express but different aspects of the same great truth. 
The Scriptures may be compendiously described as the 
record by’ inspired writers of a revelation, or rather of 
a series of revelations, from God to man. 


New Testament Statements.—The declaration that 
Scripture is inspired by God is made in various forms, 
all leading to the same result. In reference to the Prophets 
of the Old Testament in particular, the statements of the 
New Testament are explicit: ‘Men spake from God, being 
moved (borne onwards) by the Holy Spirit;’ ‘The Spirit of 
Christ which was in them did testify ;’ ‘God of old time 
spake unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions, 
and in divers manners.’ In referring to the ‘holy writings’ 
in which Timothy had been instructed, the Apostle adds, 
‘Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for 
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is 
in righteousness’ (2 Tim 3°° R. V.)@ 

Old Testament Statements.—Declarations to the same 
effect had been made, times without number, by the Old 
Testament writers. Thus the Psalmist (2 Sam 237)— 

‘The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me, 

And His word was upon my tongue.’ 
And throughout the Prophets: ‘The word of Jehovah came 
to me,’ ‘Thus saith Jehovah,’ are their constant affirmations. 


* The rendering of Jerome : ‘Omnis Scriptura divinitus inspirata, 
utilis est,’ &c., is naturally followed by Wyclif, as well as in versions 
influenced by the Vulgate. It is, however, also given by Tindale, 
Coverdale, and in the Great Bible. The first English version that 
contains the A. V. reading, ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God and is profitable,’ &c., is the Geneva translation, which also is 
that of Beza in his Latin version. Valid reasons may be assigned for 
returning, with the Revisers, to the older rendering. 


A ie 





118 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


In recognition of the same truth, the unknown author of 
the apocryphal Books of Esdras represents Ezra as offering 
the prayer, ‘If I have found favour before Thee, send Thy 
Holy Spirit unto me, and I shall write all that hath been 
done in the world since the beginning *.’ 

83. Method of Inspiration.—Prophetic inspiration has 
been variously conceived. In the Scriptures it is declared 
simply as a fact, without analysis or explanation. The 
heathen in general held that while inspired men were 
under the Divine impulse, all voluntary action was sus- 
pended. To be inspired was to be ‘possessed.’ A state of 
ecstasy was regarded as a condition of exercising the prophetic 
gift. But such is never the view given in Seripture. ‘In true 
prophecy self-consciousness and self-command are never lost 
—‘‘the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” ’ 
(x Cor 14°?) >, 

Views of the Early Fathers.—Larly Christian writers 
give various accounts of inspiration, but for the most part 
they treat the subject practically rather than speculatively, 
though generally maintaining that inspired persons still 
exercised their ordinary powers. 

Bishop Westcott has a detailed summary °, with full quotations, on 
the subject—leading to the conclusion that: ‘the unanimity of the 
early Fathers in their views on Holy Scripture is the more remarkable 
when it is taken in connexion with the great differences of character 
and training and circumstances by which they were distinguished. 
In the midst of errors of judgement and errors of detail, they main- 
tain firmly with one consent the great principles which invest the 
Bible with an interest most special and most universal, with the 
characteristics of the most vivid individuality and of the most varied 
application. They teach us that Inspiration is an operation of the 
Holy Spirit acting through men, according to the laws of their con- 
stitution, which is not neutralized by His influence, but adopted as 
a vehicle for the full expression of the Divine message. They teach 

3 2 Esd 147%, 

> W. Robertson Smith, Zhe Prophets of Israel, Lect. 5. 


© Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, Appendix B, ‘On the Primitive 
Doctrine of Inspiration,’ pp. 417-455. 


THEORIES OF INSPIRATION 119 


us that if is generally combined with the moral progress and purifica- 
tion of the Teacher, so that there is on the whole a moral fitness in 
the relation of the Prophet to the doctrine. They teach us that 
Christ—the Word of God—speaks from first to last; that all Scripture 
is permanently fitted for our instruction; that a true spiritual meaning, 
eternal and absolute, lies beneath historical and ceremonial and moral 
details.’ 

84. Theory of the Reformers.—In such views, essen- 
tially practical, without metaphysical refinement or attempt 
at closer definition, the Church for many ages was content 
to rest, until at the Reformation the presumed necessity 
arose for a more precise theory. In the desire to honour 
Scripture above Church authority, the Swiss Reformers and 
their successors adopted the view that the sacred writings 
were dictated word for word—that is, in the original 
languages, and in a text still uncorrupted. In the Helvetic 
Confession of 1675 they declared that not only the matter 
but the very words of Scripture were divinely dictated—in- 
cluding consonants, vowels, and vowel-points (or at least 
their force). A similar view had been strongly maintained 
among English theologians by Dr. John Owen, to whem an 
effective reply was made by Brian Walton, editor of the 
Polyglot; and the theory is still occasionally advocated, 
although under various modifications *. 

According to this view the human writer is but an aman- 
uensis of the Divine Author. To employ figures that have 
been used to express his position, he is the pen rather than 


* ‘The Bible is none other than the voice of Him that sitteth upon 
the throne. Every book of it, every chapter of it, every verse of it, 
every word of it, every syllable of it (where are we to stop?), every 
letter of it, is the direct utterance of the Most High. ... The Bible is 
none other than the Word of God, not some part of it more, some 
part of it less, but all alike the utterance of Him Who sitteth upon the 
throne, faultless, unerring, supreme.’—Burgon, Inspiration and Interpre- 
tation,’ 1861, p. 89. So Dr. Tregelles ‘held the sixty-six books of the 
Old and New Testament to be veritably the Word of God, as absolutely 
as were the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God on the 
two Tables of stone.’ See also Gaussen’s Theopneustia. 


120 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION | 


the penman, the unconscious lyre from which the touch of 
the Divine musician awakens the melody. 


Difficulties in the Verbal Inspiration Theory.—The 
difficulties in the way of this theory are obvious, and seem 
conclusive. Among them are the diversities of style in 
Scripture, the varying quotations, and the very professions 
of the writers themselves. Divine dictation, supposing it to 
have existed, did not supersede the necessity, on the part of the 
writers, of diligent and faithful research *, of the expression 


_of the same thought in different words, of such differences 


in the accounts of the same occurrences as would be likely 
to arise from the different standpoints of the narrators, and 
of the distinctive personal note in the various writings. 
The freedom observable in the citations of Old Testament 
passages in the New clearly shows that little stress is laid 
upon mere verbal exactness”; while, as the vast majority 
of readers must_still be dependent upon translations, the 
value of such precision would-to_a great extent be lost by 
them. It is a greater act of Divine omnipotence to produce 
a perfect work through imperfect agents, whose personality 


_ is at the same time fully preserved, than to do so by merely 


dictating it. On the other hand, inspiration is, in some 
cases at least, as in the ‘Ten Words’ on Sinai, hardly 
distinguishable from Divine dictation. Sometimes the 
inspired writers were led to express themselves in language 
whieh they themselves imperfectly understood *; and there 
are intimations of their use of words which the Holy Spirit 
taught and approved 4. 

Such are among the facts of Scripture. And apart from 
preconceived notions, it is from facts that any theory of 
inspiration must be formed. The phenomena of inspiration 


® Tu 1, 
>’ Compare Mt 267-27 with Lu 22!%29 and x Cor 117475, also Mt g'7 
with Mk 1™ and Lu 32”. ¢ See 1 Pet 11°12 Dn ra®. 


4 See Heb 1! 1 Cor 2!*5, Compare Mk to!” *®, 


DIVINE AND HUMAN ELEMENTS 12] 


are those which we find in the Bible; not those which we 
may hold to be necessary to our belief in the doctrine *. 


85. Divine and Human Elements in Scripture.—And 
however such facts may be interpreted, there is one conclusion 
to which they together point ;the coexistence of a Divine 


and of a human element in Scripture. There is an often- 
remarked analogy in this respect between the written word 
and the Word Incarnate. Perfect God and perfect man— 
two Natures (according to the language of theologians) in 
One Person—meet in mysterious ineffable union». It may 
not be for us in either case to form any definite theory as 
to the method of this union, or its limits. The fact we 
thankfully accept, and on that our faith depends. The 
endeavour has often been made to analyse it more closely. 
From the evident differences between different parts of 
Scripture in their contents and their tone, distinctions have 
been drawn between ‘inspiration of ‘direction’ and ‘in- 
spiration of suggestion,’ between ‘illumination’ and ‘dicta- 
tion’ as well as between ‘dynamical’ and ‘mechanical’ 
influence. Whatever truths these phrases may embody, 
they scarcely bring us into closer contact with the vital truth. 
The mystery of Being and of Thought, the action of the 
Divine mind upon the human spirit, and the response of the 
human spirit to the Divine, are still beyond our under- 
standing. Nor, indeed, do such theories interfere with our 
reception of the ‘living Oracles.’ 


86. Difficulties.—Supposed inaccuracies in the details of 


® ¢The student must not approach the inquiry with the assumption 
—sanctioned though it may have been by traditional use—that God 
must have taught His people, and us through His people, in one 
particular way. He must not presumptuously stake the inspiration 
and the Divine authority of the Old Testament on any foregone 
conclusion as to the method and shape in which the records have 
come down to us.’"—Westcott, Hebrews, p. 493. 

» See The Inspiration of Holy Scripture, Fight Discourses by Archdeacon 
Lee, 1864, Lect. i. 


122 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


Scripture will be considered in the sections on Interpreta- 
tion, especially in that on Scripture Difficulties. Suffice it 
now to say that the Bible claims to be a certain and 
infallible revelation of Divine Truth, that in searching 
the Scriptures the inquirer must look beyond the letter to 
the spirit, and that no errors, such as are sometimes alleged, 
as in matters of science, chronology, and the like, invalidate 
the grounds of faith. With this assurance firmly fixed, we 
are free to investigate the record. The work has been done 
by many a competent expositor. The result is thus far to 
confirm the accuracy of the record, to clear away a host of 
difficulties, and to discover in the very variations of the 
Sacred Text new proofs of its authenticity. Scripture is 
a balanced whole, and even the apparent contradictions and 
variations may be but intentionally differing aspects of truth 
which, like the diverse views in the stereoscope, need only 
to be combined to produce the true image of solidity. And 
even where there still remains a hesitancy on our part as to 
the meaning, or an impossibility in our present state of 
knowledge in harmonizing different accounts, the experience 
of the past affords good hope of a solution. But what 
if that solution cannot as yet be attained? Still ‘the 
foundation of the Lord standeth sure.’ 

The following quotations indicate some important infer- 
ences from the principles above stated :— 

‘In theories of inspiration, one factor has too often been brought 
into exclusive prominence, and the other passed over. A purely 
mechanical theory has practically ignored any real activity on the 
part of the human instrument, or an entirely subjective theory has 
virtually denied the reality of the Divine communication of truth 
which could not otherwise have been known. The proposition that 
‘‘Seripture is the Word of God” has been hardened into the dogma of 
the verbal inspiration and absolute inerrancy of every word of the 
Bible ; and the Jewish theory of the dictation of the Pentateuch to 
Moses has been extended to the rest of the Old Testament ; or, on the 


other hand, the proposition that ‘‘Scripture contains the Word of God” 
has been volatilized till all distinction between Scripture and other 


THE BIBLE AS REVELATION 123 


books is obliterated, and the inspiration of Moses or Isaiah is held to 
be not materially different from the inspiration of Solon or Aschylus.’— 
Prof. A. F. Kirkpatrick’s Divine Library of the Old Testament, p. 91. 

‘It is certain,’ writes Dean Burgon, ‘ (1) That when various persons 
are giving true accounts of the same incident, their accounts will 
sometimes differ so considerably that it will seem at first sight as 
if they could not possibly be reconciled, and yet (2) that a single 
word of explanation, the discovery of one minute circumstance— 
perfectly natural when we hear it stated—will often suffice to remove 
the difficulty which before seemed insurmountable; and, further, 
that when this has been done, the entire consistency of the several 
accounts becomes apparent, while the harmony which is established 
is often of the most beautiful nature.’—Sermons on Inspiration and 
Interpretation, 1861, p. 63. 

Bishop Ellicott writes :—‘ Fully convinced as we are that the Scripture 
is the revelation through human media of the infinite mind of God to 
the finite mind of man, and recognizing as we do both a human and 
a Divine element in the written Word, we verily believe that the Holy 
Ghost was so breathed into the mind of the writer, so illumined his 
spirit and pervaded his thoughts, that while nothing that individual- 
ized him as man was taken away, everything that was necessary to 
enable him to declare Divine Truth in all its fullness was bestowed 
and superadded.’—Aids to Faith, p. 411. 

Dean Alford writes in the Prolegomena to his Greek Testament :—‘ The 
inspiration of the sacred writers I believe to have consisted in the 
fullness of the influence of the Holy Spirit specially raising them to, 
and enabling them for, their work—in a manner which distinguishes 
them from all other writers in the world, and their work from all 
other works.’—Vol. i. p. 21. 


The Bible as Revelation 


87. Christianity claims to be a revealed religion: the, 
record of the revelation is contained in its sacred Scriptures. | 
In these it possesses an authoritative declaration of the mind 
and will and purpose of God towards man, a self-disclosure 
of ‘Him that is invisible’ which transcends all manifesta- 
tions of the Divine in nature or in history, and gives 
knowledge which the human mind could never otherwise 
have attained. 

What then, precisely, is Revelation, and what is the 
method of Divine revelation disclosed in the Bible? 


124 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


Natural and Revealed Religion.—Revealed religion 
is often set in contrast with natural religion. The distinction 
implied in these terms is, broadly, this. Natural religion 
is that in which man finds God; Revealed, is that in which 
God finds man. In the one process we are separated from 
God by the world and our own human nature; no truth is 
to be learned concerning Him but what we may slowly and 
painfully decipher there, and how perplexing the search and 
doubtful the issue the host of varying and even contradictory 
Theisms bear witness. See Job 38, 39. 

The possibility of natural religion is attested by the Seriptures them- 
selves in such passages as Ps 19! 94° 143° Is 40° 42° 4518 Job 12° 26%4 
36% $99. Ac 1774-28 Ro 119-22; its insufficiency and failure find expression 
in Job 11’ x Cor 17! and elsewhere. ~ 

In Revelation, on the other hand, the silence is broken 4, 
the sign from heaven given; the certainty and the authority 
craved for by man’s religious needs are in the miracle, in 
the Prophet’s ‘ Thus saith the Lord,’ in the inspired Book, 
and, finally and completely, in Christ, the Incarnate Word. 


88. Harmony between the two.—But though the dis- 
tinction between these two ways of apprehending God is valid, 
a little consideration will show that it is not, and cannot be, 
absolute. God’s revelation of Himself is conveyed through 
human instruments and received through modes of human 
thought and feeling. In a written revelation the human 
element is necessarily prominent. On the other hand, it 
is true to say that Nature reveals God; that He manifests 
Himself in the experience of individual and nation, and 
speaks through the intuitions of conscience. Man’s search- 
ing after God is also, at every step, a self-revelation of God. 
To every upward aspiration of thought or emotion Paul’s 
phrase might be applied, ‘ Knowing Him, but rather being 
known of Him.’ Pascal, in his perplexity, seeking after 

* This is precisely the meaning of the Greek verb ‘having spoken,’ 
* hath spoken,’ in Heb 11, 


MEANING OF REVELATION 125 


God, seemed to hear a Divine voice saying to him, ‘Thou 
wouldst not seek Me, hadst thou not already found Me.’ 
In this Divine quest, to seek is to find. 


The tendency of some modern religious thinking is to emphasize the 
likeness rather than the difference between natural and revealed 
religion. The gap is reduced from both sides: Revelation is 
naturalized, and the ordinary processes of thought towards God are 
shown to have in them elements which are supernatural. The con- 
viction that the Bible is revelation has largely given place to the con- 
ception that it contains a revelation, unique and authoritative, but 
gradually unfolded in the history and literature of which the Scriptures 
are the records. The authority of this revelation is regarded as inherent 
rather than extraneous. The stress on miracle has shifted from its 
function as attesting a revelation independent of it, to its nature as part 
of the revelation itself. The changed point of view may perhaps be 
illustrated by contrast of the immediate effect of Christ’s teaching in 
the synagogue at Capernaum, ‘They were astonished at His teaching, 
for He taught them as having authority *’—with the inference drawn by 
Nicodemus, ‘Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from 
God: for no man can do these signs that Thou doest, except God be 
with him ».’ 


In view of this trend of thought, whether justified or not, 
it becomes more important to examine and to vindicate the 


peculiar claim of the Bible to be or to contain a special and 
unique revelation of God to men. 


89. Meaning of Revelation.—The word Revelation 
(lit. drawing back the veil) is the Latin equivalent of the 
Greek dzoxaAuis (Apocalypse), an uncovering. In the LXX 
the substantive does not occur in the metaphorical sense, 
and the verb (dzoxadvrrew) very rarely. The idea, indeed, 
is characteristically Christian. In the New Testament God 
is said to reveal His truth to men, sometimes through the 
Holy Spirit: Mt 117° 1617 Lu 107! 1 Cor 2!° 14°°; the 
method of disclosure and the truth disclosed are alike called 
revelation: Eph 3° 1 Cor 14% The idea of supernatural 
communication is emphasized by the many passages which 


* Mk 1?2, b In 3? R. V. 


PO i haa 
126 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


speak of the mystery of God, hidden from the ages but now 
revealed or made known in Christ: Ro 16” Eph 3” Col 17°. 
Revelation, then, appears essentially as a special operation 
of God upon the human spirit, by which He manifests 
Himself, His will, His truth. As a manner of knowing, 
it is separate from ordinary mental processes ; as that which 
is known, it is knowledge not otherwise attainable by men. 
By way of more precise definition the following may 
suffice. ‘Revelation means God manifesting Himself in 
the history of the world in a supernatural manner and for 
a special purpose ®,’ i.e, the proper object of revelation is 
God ; its sphere is history, not nature; its method is super- 
natural. Again, ‘ Revelation can only concern what is so 
above nature as to be beyond the power of man to discover 
or of nature to disclose; in other words, it must relate to 
God, proceed from Him, and be concerned with Him >,’ 


90. Moreover, although writing is not essential to revela- 
tion as thus defined, ‘ the idea of a written revelation may 
be said to be logically involved in the notion of a Living 
God. Speech is natural to spirit; and if God is by nature 
Spirit, it will be to Him a matter of nature to reveal 
Himself ¢.’ 


The relation of Revelation to Inspiration (see § 82) is dealt with by 
Dr. Fairbairn in words which follow those just quoted: ‘But if He 
speaks to man, it will be through men; and those who hear best will 
be those most possessed of God. This possession is termed “ inspira- 
tion.”” God inspires, man reveals : inspiration is the process by which 
God gives: revelation is the mode or form—word, character, or institu- 
tion—in which man embodies what he has received. The terms, 
though not equivalent, are co-extensive, the one denoting the process 
on its inner side, the other on its outer.’ Dr. Sanday, in quoting this 
passage with approval, remarks: ‘The context shows that it is as 
correct to say, ‘‘God reveals”; but it is through man that the revela- 
tion takes concrete shape*.’? A passage to the same effect may be 


* Dr. A. B. Bruce. 
> Dr. A. M. Fairbairn, Christ in Modern Theology, p. 387. 
© Thid., p. 496. 4 Dr. Sanday, Inspiration, p. 125 note. 


METHOD OF REVELATION 127 


added from Bishop Westcott: ‘Inspiration may be regarded in one 
aspect as the correlative of Revelation. Both operations imply a super- 
natural extension of the field of man’s spiritual vision, but in different 
ways. By Inspiration we conceive that his natural powers are 
quickened so that he contemplates with a Divine intuition the truth 
as it exists still among the ruins of the moral and physical worlds. 
By Revelation we see as it were the dark veil removed from the face 
of things, so that the true springs and issues of life stand disclosed in 
their eternal nature *.’ 


In affirming then that Christianity isa Revealed Religion, 
we affirm that God has so spoken to men: that we know it 
to be so, because we have a record of the revelation in the 
Scriptures. The Bible is a revelation because it contains 
the history of the Redeemer and of our Redemption. So 
much any believer in revelation must affirm: any further 
affirmations as to the nature and method of revelation must 
be based on a study of the Bible itself. 


Method of Revelation in the Bible. 


91. The Bible is, first, a revelation of Religious Truth. 
This has already been stated in definition. The proper 
object of revelation is God, in the relations which do and 
may subsist between Him and His creatures. The Bible is 
the history of Redemption. It gives the history of the 
world as ‘God’s world,’ and as destined to become the 
kingdom of His Son. It tells us of its origin, that we may 
know by what God has done, the reverence due to Him: 
what is His power Whose law this book has revealed: Whose 
creatures we are, that we may distinguish Him from the 
idols of the heathen, who are either imaginary beings, or 
parts of His creation. 

1. All the narrative of the Bible seems written on the same 
principle. It is an inspired history of religion, i.e. of man 
in relation to God : all else that it contains is in subordination 
to this main purpose. Idolatrous nations are introduced, 


® Westcott, Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, p. 8. 


128 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


not as independently important, but as influencing the 
Church, or as influenced by it: and thus narrative and 
prophecy continue from the first transgression, through the 
whole interval of man’s misery and guilt, to a period, spoken 
of in a great diversity of expressions and under both econo- 
mies, when ‘ the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom that 
shall never be destroyed.’ 

These historical disclosures supply ample materials for 
inquiry; but it is the principle of selection and the clear 
scope of the whole which are now under notice. To convey 
religious truth is clearly the writers’ chief design. What- 
ever is revealed must be studied with this fact in view, 
and whatever is withheld may be regarded as not essential 
to the accomplishment of this purpose. 

2. In the prophetic Scriptures this peculiarity is equally 
obvious. They are all either intensely moral, or evangelical, 
or both. It might have been otherwise, without injury to 
prophecy as an outward evidence of Scripture. The gifts of 
prediction and of moral teaching might have been disjoined: 
but in fact they are not. What might have ministered to 
the gratification of natural curiosity only is enlisted on the 
side of practical holiness, The prophet is the teacher; and 
the revelation of the future becomes, like the history of the 
past, the handmaid of evangelical truth and of spiritual 
progress. 

3. So is it in all that is revealed in relation to Curist. We 
read of the dignity of His Person, but it is with a constant 
reference to ‘us men, and to our salvation.’ If He is set 
forth as the Light of the world, it is to guide us into the 
way of peace: if as the Lamb of God, it is that He may 
redeem us by His blood: if as entering into heaven, it is as 
our Propitiation and Intercessor. We call Him justly the 
‘Son of God’: He loved to call Himself, as His Apostles 
never called Him, and with a peculiar reference to His 
sympathy and work—the ‘Son of man.’ 


METHOD OF REVELATION Hz9 


Scripture, then, is the revelation of religious truth, and of 
truth adapted to our nature as fallen and guilty. We use it 
rightly, therefore, only as it ministers to our holiness and 
consolation. It might have revealed other truth, or the 
truth it does reveal may be regarded by us only as sublime 
and glorious. But this is not God’s purpose. He has given 
it ‘for teaching, reproof, correction, and for discipline in 
righteousness.’ All knowledge may be useful: but this 
knowledge is necessary. 

An important principle follows from these remarks. We 
must not expect to find revelation in Scripture, except of 
what is, in a religious point of view, important for us to 
know. Some seek ‘the dead among the living’ (as Lord 
Bacon phrased it), and look into the Bible for natural philo- 
sophy and human science: others inquire in it for the 
‘secret things’ which ‘belong only to God’: and both are 
rebuked by the very character and design of the Bible. It 
is the record of necessary and saving truth; or of truth in 
its religious aspects and bearings, and of nothing besides: 
its histories being brief or full, as brevity or fullness may 
best secure these ends. 

Not everything contained in Scripture is of the nature of 
revelation. God reveals the unknown, the spiritual, the 
secret purpose of His will. But more than this: He unveils 
hidden meanings in what is already known, His own 
mind as displayed in outward facts; in a word, the religious 
interests of life. 


Professor Hannah has acutely remarked, with regard to many of the 
Bible records :—‘So far as these are simple facts, bearing a plain 
historical character, and holding definite external relations to dates, 
to geography, to the histories of surrounding nations, it is clear that 
no special revelation was required for their record. We can imagine 
that even uninspired historians might have narrated the whole con- 
temporary portion of the facts of Scripture, in histories of the common 
type and order. But such records would have differed widely from 
the existing Scriptures, because they could not have presented the 


K 


130 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


facts under the aspect which a knowledge of their purpose and signi- 
ficance supplied. Revelation, properly so called, is the supernatural 
counterpart to this double series of facts, uniting them together under 
one religious explanation. Scripture consists, then, not of facts only, 
but of facts arranged with a view to one overruling purpose, and 
lighted up by a peculiar interpretation, which the unassisted mind of 
man could never have projected or supplied.’—Relation between the Divine 
and Human Elements in Holy Scripture (Bampton Lectures, 1863, pp. 27, 28). 


In general, Scripture speaks in relation to physical facts 
in the language of common life and contemporary know- 
ledge ; and sometimes that language ts popular rather than 
scientific, as in Job 9° 38° Ps 104%. And the reason is plain. 
Supernatural intervention here would be quite outside the 
purpose of revelation. Indeed, if strictly philosophical lan- 
guage had been employed, Scripture must have been less 
intelligible: to have described natural facts mot as they 
appear, but as they really are, would have made all such 
facts matters of revelation. It must have excited doubts 
among the ignorant, and prejudice (from the necessary 
incompleteness of Scripture teaching on such questions) 
among the philosophic; destroying, among all, the unity 
of impression which the Bible seeks to produce. The Bible 
would have become, in that case, a Divine, though incom- 
plete handbook of science; an arrangement as little con- 
ducive to the cultivation of a truly philosophical spirit as to 
the interests of religion itself. ‘And yet, although the 
Janguage is not that of modern science, it is curiously 
accurate, and its absolute concurrence with the latest 
discoveries is amazing to all except the believer".’ 


The Scriptures, for example, speak of the earth as a globe, and as 
suspended upon nothing, Is 40°? Job 26'—° Pr 8°". In treating of its 
age, they distinguish between the creation of unorganized matter and 
that.of the heavens and the earth, Gen 1’. They give to man a very 
recent origin, and their accuracy in this respect is attested by the 
ascertained state of the earth’s surface and by the monuments of 
antiquity. They describe the heavens as boundless space, not as a solid 


® See Capron’s Conflict of Faith. 


METHOD OF REVELATION 131 


sphere ; and light as an element independent of the sun, and as 
anterior to it, anticipating the generally received theory of modern 
inquirers. When they speak of air, they say that God gave it weight, 
as Galileo proved ; and of the seas, that He gave them their measure : 
a proportion of land and sea such as now exists being essential to 
the health and safety of both animal and vegetable life. The waters 
above ‘the expanse’ have an importance attached to them in Scrip- 
ture which modern science alone can appreciate ; many millions of 
tons being raised from the surface of England alone by evaporation 
every day. 

When they speak of the human race they give it one origin; and 
of human language they indicate original identity and subsequent 
division, not into endless diversities of dialect such as now exist, but 
rather into two or three primeval tongues ; facts which, though long 
questioned, ethnography and philosophy have confirmed, Gen 11! 10%, 

When they speak of the stars, instead of supposing a thousand, as 
ancient astronomers did (Hipparchus says 1022, Ptolemy 1026), they 
declare that they are innumerable; a declaration which modern 
telescopes discover to be not even a figure of speech. ‘God,’ says Sir 
John Herschel, after surveying the groups of stars and nebulez in the 
heavens, ‘has scattered them like dust through the immensity of 
space.’ And when the Scriptures speak of their hosts, it is as 
dependent, material, obedient things, Is 407°?” 


In the domain of religious truth the Bible is of absolute 
and final authority ; in that of scientific fact and conception 
it does not claim to be. There can be no conflict between 
science and religion. The dreary records of the warfare 
between science and systems of theology which have mistaken 
the nature and limits of the inspiration under which the 
authors of the Bible wrote its several books, will not fail 
of their lesson if they teach us to rest the authority of 
Seripture on its matchless and unassailable revelation of 
religious truth. 

92. A second peculiarity of Scripture is, that it is 
a gradual and progressive revelation. 

The truths and purpose of God are in themselves incapable 
of progress; but not the revelation of those truths. In 
nature, the rising sun scatters the mists of the morning, 
‘and brings out into light first one prominence, and then 

K2 





2 


132 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


another, till every hill and valley is clothed in splendour. 
The landscape was there before, but it was not seen. So in 
revelation, the progress is not in the truth, but in the clear- 
ness and impressiveness with which Scripture reveals it. 

In the beginning, for example, God taught the unity of 
His nature ; while the truth that there is a plurality in the 
Godhead was taught, but indistinctly. In the later Prophets, 
the truth comes out with greater distinctness ; and in the 
New Testament it is fully revealed. In the same way, the 
work of the Holy Spirit is recognized in the Old Testament, 
and with increasing clearness as we approach the times of 
the gospel*. It is in the New alone, however, that we 
have a distinct view of His personality and work. 

This gradual disclosure of the Divine will is yet more 
remarkable in the anticipations of the Christ. The first pro- 
mise (Gen 3'°) contained a prophetic declaration of mercy, and 
foretold His coming and work, though in mysterious terms. 
The first recorded act of acceptable worship (Gen 4* Heb 11*) 
was a type, expressing by an action the faith of the offerer 
in the fulfilment of the first prediction. There was to be 
triumph through suffering, and there was to be the substi- 
tution of the innocent for the guilty. 

These promises and types were multiplied with the lapse of time. 
In the person or worship of Enoch», of Noah*, of Melchizedec*, and 
of Job®, there was much that was typical and predictive ; still more 
in the history of Abraham ‘ and his immediate descendants. 

Under the Mosaic dispensation, other typical acts or persons, and 
places, and things were instituted, and the design of the institution 
was most distinctly explained’. Prophecies, also, beeame more clear 
and frequent *. 

Between the days of Samuel and Malachi—a period of more than six 


® Gen 1? 6° Ps 5111-!* Is 4816 61! Eze 3°427. Compare Num 674-26 


with the New Testament benediction 2 Cor 13"*. > Ju 14. 
© t Pet 3°° Gen 87). 4 Heb 5, 6. © Job 427. 
f Gen 12° (compared with Gal 3%) 264 49°, &c. 
& Lev 1* 6°" 17" compared with Heb 9**. ° 


bh Num 24"7 Dt 18! Ac 37°78, 


‘METHOD OF REVELATION 133 


hundred years—a succession of prophets appear, who gradually set 
forth the person and work of the Messiah ; they foretell, too, the out- 

- pouring of the Spirit and the general prevalence of the truth*: points 
on which the earlier revelation is silent. 

In the extent of their predictions, the prophets have not gone 
beyond the first promise which was intended to give hope of complete 
redemption ; but in their clearness, in the detailed account they give 
of what redemption involved, and what it cost, the difference is most 
marked ; while in the same qualities, the Gospels have gone at least 
as far beyond the prophets as the prophets have gone beyond the Law. 

93. It is noticeable, too, that the predictions of the old 
economy and its practical doctrines gohandin hand. The 
revelation spreads on each point. The light that illuminates 
the living spring, or the harvest-field of truth, shows with 
equal clearness the path that leads to them. The Law gives 
Divine precept with more fullness than previous dispensa- 
tions, and the Prophets go beyond the Law, occupying a 
middle place between it and the gospel. They insist more 
fully on the principles of personal holiness, as distinguished 
from rational and ceremonial purity, and their sanctions 
have less reference to temporal promises. The precepts of 
the Law are in the Law stern and brief: its penalties de- 
nounced with unmitigated severity. In the Prophets, the 
whole is presented in colours softer and more attractive ; 
hues from some distant glory, itself concealed, have fallen 
upon their gloomy features and illumined them into its own 
likeness. The Law had said, ‘ Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart and with all thy strength’; and the 
extent of this command nothing could exceed. The Prophets, 
however, expound and enforce, and animate it with a new 
spirit, and direct its application to greater holiness. The 
rule of life thus becomes in their hands increasingly luminous 
and practical. 

The Psalms, again, are a great instrument of piety, and 
are so far additions to the institutes of legal worship, which 
contain no specific provision for devotion. 


® r Pet 171 Ps 6838 Is 5219-15 5311-12 611-2 Joel a°8 Zec 149. 





134 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


Ethical Progress.—At the same time, there is an un- 
doubted ethical development. Statutes were given and 
actions permitted in the early stages of human history, 
which became obsolete in the progress of Divine revelation. 
Our Lord expressly declares that certain Mosaic institutes 
were given for the hardness of the people’s heart * ; that is, 
because they were as yet unprepared for what was higher 
and purer. The essential principles of morality are im- 
mutable; their application to human conduct was a pro- 
gressive force. 


‘That God has not thought proper to raise mankind at once to its 
highest state of moral perfection, any more than individuals are born 
at once to their maturity, is a matter of actual experience. Why He 
has admitted it is a question which it is vain to ask, and because vain, 
presumptuous. The human species has gone through a state of less 
fullness of moral knowledge, of less enlightened conscience, as com- 
pared with its subsequent attainments, just as every individual has 
done. Now this less perfect state being a part of God’s will, the 
training applied to it must have been suited to it; that is, it must 
have taken it as imperfect, and dealt with it as such ; not anticipating 
the instructions of a more perfect state, but improving it in its imper- 
section ; not changing spring into summer, but making of spring the 
best that could be made of it. While, therefore, general principles of 
duty were given, all the conclusions which follow from them, with 
regard to our particular relations in life, were not at the same time 
developed, and men did not at once develop them for themselves... . 
But further, this imperfect moral knowledge on many particular 
points of practice being allowed, if an action on any one of these points 
was capable of strengthening their moral principle generally, or 
tended to serve any other useful end, it would properly be commended 
to them, however inconsistent it might be with more enlightened 
notions of particular duty. It might be commended to them, because 
it could do them no moral harm, but probably the contrary ; and because, 
being a command in a particular case, and not a statement of a general 
principle, it could not justly interfere with the acquisition of purer 
views by future generations when the dispensation of the fullness of 
time was come.’—Dr. T. Arnold, of Rugby, Essay on the right Interpreta- 
tion of Scripture, 1834. 


If the reader, for instance, will compare the statements 
® Mt 19%. 


UNITY OF REVELATION 135 


of the Pentateuch with those of the Prophets on the relation 
between the Jews, or of the world generally, and Him who 
came to enlighten the Gentiles as well as His people Israel®, 
or will mark the increasing spirituality and clearness» of 
the whole horizon of spiritual truth as the dawn of the 
gospel day drew on, he will not fail to understand the con- 
sistency and progressive development of revelation. In 
both he will see evidence of the presence of that God 
Who (as Butler expressed it) ‘appears deliberate in all His 
operations,’ and Who accomplishes His ends by slow and 
successive stages, whether they refer to the changes of the 
seasons, the movements of Providence, or the more formal 
disclosures of His will. 

This peculiarity of Scripture makes it important that the 
various parts of the Bible should be read in the order in 
which they were written. A chronological arrangement 
of sacred History, the Psalms, and the Prophets, so far as 
attainable, is important for the explanation of the several 
parts: nor is it less so for a clear and consistent view of the 
progressive unveiling of the Divine character and plans°. 
This applies to the New Testament as well as to the Old. 


94. A third feature of the revelation in the sacred volume 
is its unity. It has the first requisite of a great book— 
a single purpose, and that purpose kept in view throughout 
every page. 

This unity is not owing (it will be observed) to the 
circumstance that the volume is the work of one author. 
or of one age. As many as forty different writers (including 
the authors of smaller portions) composed it. The style 
is now history, now song, now arguments or dialogue, now 


® Cf. Ex 19° (of the Jewish people Is 61°) with Is 667! (of the con- 
verted Gentiles) ; 1 Pet 2° Rev 1°. 

> See especially Jer 3152-4. 

© For a chronological arrangement of the whole of the Bible see 
Appendix I. 





136 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


biography, or prophecy, or letters. Deeper than these 
causes of diversity, and sufficiently strong to counteract their 
influence, must be the secret of this marvellous harmony. 
It is found, in fact, in the superhuman care of One Who 
is infinite in power and wisdom. The entire building, which 
was so many centuries in rearing, is symmetrical throughout, 
and must have had a Divine Founder, Who first planned and 
then superintended the whole. 


I, One moral purpose.——Look again, for example, at the 
uniformly moral purpose of the volume. It is the story of 
human beings in relation to God: first of man, as man: 
then of families: then of anation: then of the wider society 
of the Church. In all other professed revelations, the writers 
dwell at length on the origin of the universe (as in the 
Shastras of the Hindus), or on the physical theory of another 
life (as in the pretended revelations of Mohammed), or on 
topics which cannot even be imagined to be of any practical 
importance (as in the fables of the Talmud, and of apoeryphal 
New Testament books). All that the Bible teaches, on the 
other hand, refers to God as connected with man, singly 
or socially, or to man as connected with God: and is moral 
and practical. It contains no cosmogony, no mythology, 
no metaphysics, no marvels which are not moral: no ideal 
which is not also a reality. In its histories, biographies, 
prophecies, and psalmody, it has but one aim, to knit 
together the broken relations between God and man, and 
between man and man :—to redeem and sanetify our race. 


2. One System of Doctrine.—If we look at the doctrines 
which were believed and taught, we find a unity no less 
remarkable. Under every dispensation, the great principles 
of Christianity have been recognized by all holy men. 
Religion, ‘subjectively’ regarded, has ever been faith and 
obedience. And as a system of truth (‘objective’) it has 
never changed. From the earliest times, we find a belief 


UNITY OF REVELATION 137 


in the unity of God; in the creation and preservation of 
all things by Divine power; in a general and particular 
Providence; in a Divine law, fixing distinctions between 
right and wrong; in the fall and corruption of man ; in the 
doctrine of atonement through vicarious suffering; in the 
obligation and efficacy of prayer; in direct Divine influence ; 
in human responsibility ; and in the necessity of practical 
holiness. 


Law and Gospel essentially One.—The Law, as given by 
Moses, abounds in ceremony, and was evidently adapted to 
the peculiar circumstances of one people. The Gospel has 
but few ceremonies, remarkable for their simplicity, and 
the whole is of universal application. But though at first 
sight so dissimilar, the two systems are essentially one. 
They present the same views of God and of man, suggest or 
plainly teach the same truths, and are adapted to excite the 
same feelings. 

This unity comprehends doctrines entirely beyond human 
knowledge. The Bible reveals everywhere the same God, 
holy, wise, and good: it speaks of His designs in governing 
the world, and of the final issue of the present struggle 
between good and eyil. It treats of human nature and of 
true happiness; analyses with matchless skill the secret 
motives of human action, and points out the grand source 
of human misery : subjects which have engaged the thoughts 
of the wisest men in all ages. 


95. Unity amid Diversity.— One consideration of prime 
importance is suggested by this characteristic of the Bible. 
It is in the light of this unity in the whole that we must 
interpret the diversities amidst the parts. If not all in 
the Bible is revelation (§ 91), neither is the quality of the 
revelation always on the same level. It has been seen that 
in the Prophets, Old Testament inspiration finds clearest 
expression and reaches its height, culminating, perhaps, in 


138 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


that wonderful utterance of Jeremiah concerning the New 
Covenant, on which the central revelation of the Epistle 
to the Hebrews is based*. We do not look for revelation 
like this in the Books of Chronicles or Esther, yet can 
recognize that these too have their needful and honourable 
place as stones in the Divine fabric. 


96. Essential things in Revelation.—So far from being 
a source of perplexity, the perception of unity amid diversity 
should bring gain every way. It throws the stress on what 
is essential in revelation, the vital truths and moving forces 
of religion. It bring#into clearer light the design, nature, 
and method of revelation in exhibiting it as the history of 
God’s redeeming activity. Above all it fixes attention on 
the goal of revelation. The Old Testament is seen as the 
gradual preparation for the Christ. The New Testament 
also receives its meaning from Christ: He ereated it: it is 
His Self-manifestation through His servants, their several 
message to the world centred in Him into a unity tran- 
seending all art, and combined into a living book which 
answers at all points to the living Christ. In discerning 
the process we become aware of the unity. We may wonder 
and revere as we fall under the spell of Prophet or 
Psalmist, of Evangelist or Apostle: it is when we see the 
whole in the parts that we feel we are in the presence 
of a stupendous miracle of revelation, and amid all that 
is human humbly acknowledge that ‘a greater than man 
is here.’ 

97, A fourth peculiarity of Scripture is the absence of 
all systematic form in the truths revealed. There is no 
compend of Christian doctrine, nor are there specific rules 
on the duties of the Christian life: an omission the more 
marked, as in the books of most false religions (the Koran 
and Shastras, for example) the description of the ‘ faith’ is 


® Jer 3151-8 Heb 8-10; ef. 1 Cor 1179, 


" a 
e v 





EXAMPLE BEFORE SYSTEM 139 


most precise, and the minutest directions are given concern- 
ing fasts, ablutions, and other points of religious service. 

This peculiarity is both natural and instructive. In the 
Old Testament, the earlier part (and much of the later) is his- 
torical in its method. Moral truth is conveyed exclusively 
through narrative, and the narrative is fragmentary and 
concise. God had been in communication with man long 
before He gave the Law. What He had revealed, or how 
He revealed it, cannot be fully gathered from the record. 
The very object, indeed, of a large portion of the Bible 
seems to be not so much the disclosure of truth, as the 
embodiment of truth already disclosed. 

The New. Testament, again, was written for those who 
had received instruction in the Christian faith, and had 
embraced it. It does not, accordingly, contain regular 
elementary instruction, or an enumeration of articles of 
faith. When the Epistles were written, the churches had 
been formed under Divine teaching and on a Divine model ; 
while the Gospels are clearly historical, and rather imply, 
or suggest, religious truth, than systematically reveal it. 


Teaching by Example.—Religion is both objective and 
subjective ; a system of holy doctrine, or of active holy 
principles. The first is truth, and the second is piety. In 
Seripture both are revealed, but it is rather im the form of 
examples, or of incidental illustrations, than of systematic 
teaching. 

Let us notice, for example, how the Bible speaks of the 
character of God as a Moral Governor, and of man, both as 
sinful and as holy. 

Everywhere, throughout the Bible, the perfections of God are 
revealed, but they are revealed in His works. They are never defined 
or mentioned even, without reference to some practical end. 

When Abraham, through Sarah’s impatience or unbelief, had taken 
Hagar, hoping to see an early fulfilment of the Divine promise, 


Jehovah rebuked him, and for the first time spoke of Himself as the 
‘Almighty God, Gen 174. When Israel exclaimed, ‘My way is hid 





140 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION a , r 


from Jehovah,’ the answer was given, ‘Hast thou not known... 
that the everlasting God . .. fainteth not, neither is weary ? there is 
no searching of His understanding,’ Is 40”. 

Considering His government, we find its principles embodied in 
facts, or in practical precepts, exclusively. His dispensations are 
unchangeable, like Himself. In every nation and age, he that worketh 
righteousness is approved. He judges according to every man’s work*. 
He controls what seems most accidental®. He brings about His ends 
by means apparently trifling or contradictory®. He makes even the 
wicked the instruments of His will*. He forgives, and is ready to 
forgive®. He hears and answers prayer’. He marks the motives 
of men, as in the case of Lot’s wife and of Joash®. He chastises 
those whom He most loves, as in the case of Moses, of David, and 
of Hezekiah*. He preserveth the righteous, and none that trusteth 
in Him shall be desolate '!. 


Human sinfulness is traced through its manifold disguises 
and set in its true light in a series of vivia biographical 
touches—a wonderful gallery of portraits! Every variety 
of character passes before us, not brought in for the sake of 
the moral lesson, but exhibited often without comment, 
leaving the lesson to follow of itself. So of human excel- 
lence, as implanted by the Spirit of God, the moving prin- 
ciples being faith in the Unseen. 


Thus, if we would analyse and describe our sinfulness, we may find 
scoffing infidelity in the antediluvians/; envy in Cain and the 
brethren of Joseph *; malice in Saul!; slander in Doeg and Ziba™ 
contempt for Divine teaching in Korah and Ahab® ; covyetousness in 
Achan, Balaam, Gehazi, and Judas®°; ambition in Abimelech and 
the sons of Zebedee ” ; pride in Hezekiah and Nebuchadnezzar %. 

To set forth the inconsistencies of human nature, it shows us, in 
Ahithophel, the friend and the traitor’; in Joab, the brave soldier 
and faithful servant’, yet ‘a doer of evil,’ and one who opposed 


* Dt ro” 2Ch 197 Ro 2! Gal 2° Eph 6? Col 3°51 Pet 117, » Est 6! Jer 
38'—5 Ae 1675. © x Sa 9816-16 Judg 718-4, 4 Ne 13? Ac 2°. 
© Dn 9* 2 Ch 74. f 2 Ch 33128 Gen 24?”. ® Gen 1976 2 Ki 13”. 
h Num 2o!? 2 Sa 2415 2 Ch 32% =! 1Sa 1957 Phil 44218 4 Ju x4, 15. 
K Gen 4° 37). 1 y Sa 187-29, ™ ySaoa%aSar6-% ™ Nom ie 
1 Ki 20%, ° Jos 772 2 Ki 5°°-7 Mt 2615-16, P Judg g'~> Mk ro, 
4 2 Ki 208 Dn 45% r Ps 55)*18 a Sa 1635, * 2 Sa 1278 245, 


THACHING BY EXAMPLE 141 


God’s appointment and sided with Adonijah*; in Jehoram, a destroyer 
of the images of Baal, who yet cleaved to the sin of Jeroboam ” ; 
in Herod, reverence for John, and a spirit of hardened disobedience? ° ; 
in Agrippa, belief of the prophets, and a rejection of the Gospel? ; in 
many of the chief rulers, a belief in the claims of Christ, combined 
with a readiness to join in the sentence of the Sanhedrin, that He 
was ‘guilty of death °.’ 

We see the power of self-deceit in David and Balaam‘; of prejudice 
in Naaman, in Nathanael, in Nicodemus, in the people of Athens 
and of Ephesus®; of habit in Ahab, who humbled himself before 
Elijah, and yet returned to his idols®, and in Felix, of whom we 
read that he trembled once, though we never read that he trembled 
again }, 

The danger of ungodly connexions is seen in the antediluvians 
and Esau, who married with those who were under the curse of 
Godj; in Solomon * ; in Jehoshaphat’s connexion with Ahab (through 
Athaliah)!; and in Ahab’s connexion with Jezebel™; of worldly 
prosperity, in Rehoboam® and Uzziah °. 

If we seek for exhibitions of moral excellence, again, we have 
it not defined, but illustrated: faith in Abraham?; patience in 
Job%; meekness in Moses"; decision in Joshua’; patriotism in 
Nehemiah’; friendship in Jonathan®. In Hannah we have a 
pattern to mothers’; in Samuel, and Josiah, and Timothy, to 
children; in Joseph and Daniel, to young men*; in Barzillai, 
to the aged’; in Eliezer, to servants?; in David, to those under 
authority; in our Divine Lord, to all of every age and in every 
condition. 

To make the truth taught in these examples (except in the last) 
complete, we must trace the evidence of their weakness. They failed 
in the very parts of their character which were strongest—Abraham 
through fear >>, Job through impatience °°, Moses through irritability 
and presumption 7%. 

If we attempt, again, to ascertain from Scripture what Paley has 
called the ‘devotional virtues’ of religion, veneration towards God, 
an habitual sense of His providence, faith in His wisdom and dealings, 


Serie 28h) Pa Ki’gt-Si O° Mk 618 208d WieiaGet-28.) 18 Jn) r24? 


Mt 26°, f 2Sa 125-7 Num 232, § 2 Kis5!12 Jn 14 39 Ac 178 1978. 
AY Ki 2127 226: 1 Ac 2425, J Gen 6! 26%, = ING gee 
15 Ki g8-6) ™ y Kiar == eCh ial. © 2Ch26!6, P Gal 37°. 
9 Jas 5). rT Num 12°, Ss Jos 24), t Ne 1' 514. Sy re Sh igo 
Voie pSpy erry W + Sa 3 2 Ch 343 2 Tim 3”. * Gen 39° Dn 18. 
Y 2Sa 19°39, 7 Gen 24. 28 Sayan ells Gc. bb Gen 20% 


ec Job 31. a7 Dt 3251, 


142 





a disposition to resort on all occasions to His merey for help and 
pardon, we shall find them rather illustrated than defined—embodied, 
that is, in character and example, and not in propositions*; the 
whole adapted to our wants with admirable skill, and by the very 
form they assume. 

It is this presence in Scripture of men like ourselves that 
brings it home to our heart and conscience. There is felt 
to be something human in it, as well as Divine. It meets 
us at every turn. We feel, as we look, that it has a power 
which, like the eye of a good portrait, is fixed upon us, turn 
where we will». 

Besides answering this moral purpose, it is worthy of remark that 
the style of Scripture, consisting of figures and specific examples, or 
‘singular terms,’ is the kind of diction least impaired by translation. 
See Whately’s Rhet., Part III, chap. ii. § 2. 

98. Now this is a quality essential in a volume designed for all 
countries and for every age. If articles of faith or minute rules of 
practice had been given, they must have been retained for ever, and 
with them the heresies and errors which they were intended to con- 
demn. Either they must have been very general, and therefore 
useless for their avowed purpose, or they must have been so minute 
as not to be practicable in all countries, and comprehensible by all 
Christians. The Koran, for example, places the utmost importance 
on the offering of prayer at sunrise and sunset; a rule which proves 
that the religion of the false prophet was never designed for Green- 
land or Labrador, where for several months the sun neyersets. Asum- 
mary of doctrine, too, perfectly intelligible to a matured Christian, 
might be nearly all mysterious to the converted Hottentot. 

And even if such a summary could have been made generally 
intelligible, its effects upon the minds of Christians would have been 
disastrous. They would have stored their memory with the very 
words of the creed, without searching the rest of Seripture. There 
would have been no room for thought, no call for investigation, and 
no excitement of the feelings or improvement of the heart. The 
creed being, not that from which the faith is to be learned, but the 
faith itself, would be regarded with indolent and useless veneration. 
It is only when our energies are roused and our attention awake, 
when we are acquiring or correcting, or improving our knowledge, 

® Paley has some admirable remarks, applying these principles to 
the character (given in Scripture) of our Lord, Evidences, p. 231, 
Religious Tract Society’s ed. 

” See Miller's Bampton Lectures, p. 128. 


SYSTEM AND LIFE 143 


that knowledge makes the requisite impression upon us. God has 
not made Scripture like a garden, ‘where the fruits are ripe and the 
flowers bloom, and all things are fully exposed to our view ; but like 
a field, where we have the ground and seeds of all precious things, 
but where nothing can be brought to maturity without our industry’; 
nor then, without the dews of heavenly grace. ‘I find in the Bible,’ 
says Cecil, ‘a grand peculiarity, that seems to say to all who attempt 
to systematize it, I am not of your kind. ..Istand alone. The great 
and the wise shall never exhaust my treasures: by figures and 
parables I will come down to the feelings and understandings of the 
ignorant. Leave me as I am, but study me incessantly.’ 

Even good men, too, have undue preferences. If all truth of the 
same order were placed together in Scripture, men would read most 
what they most loved: to the neglect of what may be as important 
though less welcome. But as truth is scattered throughout the Bible, 
we learn to think of doctrine in connexion with duty, and of duty in 
connexion with the principles by which it is enforced. 


99, Character above System.—These facts suggest a lesson to those 
who regard the Bible as influential only when made a treasury of 
intellectual truth. Systematic Divinity, founded upon the Bible, is 
perhaps the last perfection of knowledge, but not necessarily of 
character. A man may be drawn to the sacred page by its pictures 
of Divine goodness, and may love it with u return of affection for all 
its mercy, or of hope for its promises, or may feed his soul with its 
provisions, or direct his life by its counsel, and yet de nothing to 
systematize its doctrines, or at all understand the technical phrases 
of theological truth. This life of devotion, with its acknowledgement 
of Providence and imitation of Christ, is the chief thing: combined 
with systematic thinking, it makes a man profoundly holy and pro- 
foundly wise ; but without the systematic thinking there may be 
both holiness and wisdom. 


The Divine Instrument of Man’s Improvement,—They suggest 
another lesson. Systematic catechetical treatises on doctrine are of 
use, chiefly in defining or preserving unity of faith : but must not be 
regarded as the instruments of religious training. or as the store-houses 
of effective knowledge. They address the intellect only, and that too 
in logical forms, without narrative, or example, or feeling, or power. 
They contain no patterns of holiness: no touches of nature. Use 
them therefore in their right place; but remember that the Divine 
instrument of man’s improvement is that book which abounds in 
examples of tenderness, of pity, of remonstrance ; which gives forth 
tones, and looks, and words, at once human and Divine, ever the 
same, and yet ever new—the Bible. 





144 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


100. The Revelation in the Bible is authoritative.— 
A word may be added, finally, on the Authority of Seripture. 
If there is revelation at all there is essentially and neces- 
sarily authority. The Prophets speak as men who believe 
they speak the Word of God: it is for those who hear to 
believe and to obey. Authority thus belongs to Seripture 
as the vehicle of revelation. 

The distinction, indeed, which is sometimes drawn 
between the Bible as an authoritative book and as authori- 
tative revelation is theoretical rather than practical. The 
authority is there, claiming us, and the vast majority who 
have yielded to its claim and lived by obedience to it have 
not been careful—perhaps not able—to distinguish. At 
the same time it may be acknowledged that the true 
authority of the Bible is immediate, spirit finding spirit. 
Unless God be heard in the soul, He will not be found in 
the Word. To forget this may lead to a mischievous 
bondage to the letter: it is possible with all zeal and 
sincerity to ‘search the Scriptures,’ teeming with their 
witness to Christ, and yet fall under the judgement, ‘Ye 
will not come to Me that ye might have life. If there 
may seem some loss of definiteness and fixity in ascribing 
authority, less to the Bible as a whole than to the revela- 
tion it contains, this danger should be remembered. The 
loss may well be compensated by gain in vitality and 
spiritual power, while the Scriptures still hold indisputable 
sway over mind and will as alone ‘able to make wise unto 
salvation.’ 

101. The Ultimate Seat of Authority in Religion.— 
Authority has been denied to the Bible mainly on two 
grounds: (1) Revelation is defined as essentially immediate 
and personal; there cannot therefore be written revelation. 
God reveals Himself directly to the soul that seeks Him. ~ 
(2) Criticism is alleged to have shaken the pretensions of 
Scripture to be in all its parts the infallible Word of 


Pe fe 


AUTHORITY: ITS ULTIMATE SEAT 145 


God*. With the latter we are not now concerned, though 
it may be unhesitatingly maintained that the authority of 
the Scripture revelation as expounded above stands fast 
in face of any critical results with regard to the books 
containing it. But the first and main reason assigned 
surely does not lead to the conclusion. Granted that 
revelation always involves direct intercourse between God 
and each recipient soul: yet the word which has come 
to one, and stands written, may cause multitudes to hear 
a Voice to which they would otherwise have remained deaf. 
‘The man who has most clearly and certainly heard God, 
has done more than hear Him for himself; he has heard 
Him for the world, and the world ought to be able to hear 
God in the man.’ He is become an authority in religion, 
and the record of his consciousness has value even of an 
authoritative kind for less inspired men. Nor need we 
depend simply on individual recognition of the written Word 
as having authority. Our own response is justified and 
reinforced by the experience of countless others and by the 
sway the Bible has exercised over human life. 


The position here contended for may be summed up in words of 
Principal Rainy in a review of Dr. Martineau’s book * :— 

‘The Bible discloses a revealing process of which it is itself the 
effect. That process, entering into the history of the world, has made 
proof of its nature and source. It claims to be nothing less than 
God making Himself objective in the religious history of men— 
approaching us not merely through the hidden avenues of our indi- 
vidual consciousness, but outwardly in the plane of facts and events. 
It is claimed that He broke the silence and spoke, put aside the veil 
and wrought, in an order of words and works, specifically His own, 
leading up to and crowned by the Incarnation. This history is for us 
embodied in a literature—no otherwise could it live for us and for 
the world. In this literature, the revealing process finds its voice 
and continues to be vocal ; and as it utters the mind of God in Christ, 


* Dr. James Martineau, The Ultimate Seat of Authority in Religion. 
> Fairbairn, Christ in Modern Theology, p. 495. 
© In The Critical Review. 


L 





146 INSPIRATION AND REVELATION 


it becomes for men the Word, the voice of which is gone out into 
all the world. 

‘The evidence of the reality of all this is exceedingly various. It 
would be a long story to set forth by how many avenues the persua- 
sion reaches us of the historicity of this process, of its moral continuity 
and progress, of its religious depth and vitality, of its mighty works 
and wonders, of its great personalities in fellowship with God, its 
prophecies, its psalms, above all its crowning and sealing Person, 
full of grace and truth. The inward witness only assures us that 
we are not mistaking the character of this great phenomenon, of 
which the various aspects touch us at a thousand points. But when 
we have come so far, then we know that God has spoken—we know 
that He has been holding fellowship with men as One Who stands over 
against them, not less than as One Who is within them. And it 
becomes our right to deal with the revelation with a sense of 
expectancy, and with a recognition of authority. 

‘Such a revealing process by no means supersedes the inner fellow- 
ship with God and the longing for His presence. Indeed no other 
influence in this world has so stimulated and sustained that faith and 
longing. It remains true, that every disclosure which comes to us 
through the Scripture only reveals its full Divine significance, only 
opens its final and conclusive evidence when God meets us in it. 
John Bunyan tells us how in his early religious life his pastor used 
to admonish him that God must set him down and root him in the 
truths which he seemed to find in the Word, otherwise he should not 
have stability and abiding profit. All is not done as soon as we have 
read our Bibles. Yet we may be persuaded that here we are in the 
region where God 1s emphatically teaching, both in things which 
have been made sure to us by an inward witness, and also in things 
which we are only in progress to understand, to discern in their true 
meaning, and to feel in their Divine influence. 


CHAPTER VII 
THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


‘No book is so translatable as the Bible. It runs with the least 
difficulty into all languages, East and West. When it fails to meet 
with idioms that are perfect equivalents, it will always be found that 
its own may be successfully transplanted, and that they will grow 
with surprising freshness and vigour in their new soil. Hence no so 
ready a way to enrich a language, even an old and copious language. 
as to translate the Bible into it. We are not generally aware how 
many of our own most life-like idioms are in fact orientalisms thus 
introduced into our remote Western world. The reason is that it is 
the Living Word—‘‘the Word of God, quick and powerful,” yet 
clothed in humanity ; and hence it is so intensely human because it © 
is the Divine in the human. In other words, it could not have been 
so human had it not also been Divine.’—Paror. Tayter Lewis, The 
Divine Human in the Scriptures. 


I. Moprern VERSIONS IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. 


102. Latin Versions.—Of modern versions the merits 
are very various. Here Erasmus claims the first mention. 
In 1505 he published a Latin translation of the New 
Testament, and «in 1516 accompanied his edition of the 
Greek Testament by a Latin version. He was followed by 
others, who undertook the translation of the whole Bible. 
The versions made by Romanists are generally extremely 
literal, and often obscure: such are the versions of Pagninus 
(Lyons, 1528), Arias Montanus (Antwerp Polyglot, 1584), 
and Cardinal Cajetan (Venice, 1530, and Lyons repub., 1639). 
Some, as the version of Clarius (Venice, 1542)°, are mere 


* Clarius claimed to have corrected the Vulgate in 8,000 places ; but 
his work was for a time placed in the Index Expurgatorius. 


L 2 


148 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


corrections of the Vulgate. Houbigant (1753) gives an 
elegant Latin version of the Old Testament, to accompany 
his emended Hebrew text. 

Among Protestants, Sebastian Minster (Heidelberg, 1534) 
gives an intelligible version from the Hebrew, preferable to 
the versions of Pagninus and Montanus. He follows, how- 
ever, the same text, and does not widely differ in principles 
of translation from those authors. 

Leo Juda at Ziirich began another version of the Hebrew 
and LXX, which was completed and published after his death 
in 1542 by Bibliander, the New Testament being added by 
others. This version is both free and faithful. 

Sebastian Castellio (Basel, 1557-1573), gives a version from 
the original, in which he studied to give the sense in elegant 
classical Latin. It is wanting, however, in simplicity and 
force. ‘ 

The version of Tremellius, a Jewish Christian, assisted 
by his son-in-law F. Junius (Leipzig, 1579), is deamed 
among the best. They expressed the Greek article by the 
demonstrative pronoun. The version of Sebastian Schmidt 
(Strassburg, 1696) is extremely literal, and that of J. A. 
Dathe (Old Testament, Leipzig, 1781-1789) is remarkable 
for fidelity and elegance. The New Testament of Beza 
(Geneva, 1556) is valuable, not only for its faithfulness as 
a translation, but for its employment of all the then acces- 
sible sources for textual criticism. It* was frequently 
reprinted, in some editions with the Greek original and the 
Vulgate, and exerted a marked influence on the English 
Revisers of 1611. 


2. VERSIONS IN EvRoPEAN VERNACULAR LANGUAGES. 

103. The German Bible.—A translation of the Bible 
into German, from the Vulgate, was in existence before the 
fifteenth century ; and after the invention of printing it was 
issued from the presses of Mainz, Strassburg, Augsburg, and 


EUROPEAN VERNACULAR VERSIONS 149 


Basel. It was literal and unscholarly, and had but a small 
circulation. Before 1521 Martin Lurnuer had translated, 
‘not,’ as he says, ‘for scholars but for the people,’ certain 
parts of Scripture ; and during his seclusion in the Wartburg 
he began the translation of the whole Bible from the 
original languages. The New Testament appeared in 1522, 
but at first without the name either of translator or printer. 
The Old Testament was issued in successive portions, and 
the whole was completed in 1532, the Apocrypha being 
added two years afterwards. Luther frequently revised his 
work, forming a committee to assist him (Collegiwm Biblicum), 
of which Melanchthon and Bugenhagen were the most 
distinguished members. The final touches were added to 
the version in 1544. The effect of its publication was 
marvellous and lasting. It not only greatly aided the 
Reformation, but gave form and fixedness to the German 
‘language. It also was of material help to Protestant Bible 
translators in other countries. Revisions have been fre- 
quently attempted. In 1883, after much discussion among 
German scholars and divines, a tentative edition was 
published, and, after being subjected to general criticism 
for two years, was thoroughly re-examined and submitted 
to a theological Conference at Halle in 1890. The Con- 
ference entrusted the publication to the Cannstein Bible 
Institute, by which it was issued in 1892. In 1897 an 
edition of the revised text was published by the British 
and Foreign Bible Society. It is no doubt in some such 
form that Luther’s Bible will in future be best known. 

104. Translations founded on lLuther’s.—Luther’s 
Bible has been the basis of translation into the languages 
of North-Western Europe—the Swedish (1541); the Danish 
(1550); the Icelandic (1584) ; an early Dutch version (1560) ; 
and the Finnish, with its cognate dialects (1642, &c.). The 
followers of Zwingli also revised the version for the use 
of the German-Swiss Church in 1679, superseding an old 


oe 
150 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


translation which had been made for the same chureh by 
Leo Juda and others between 1524 and 1529. 

Of other German versions, that of De Wette, Die Heilige 
Schrift, must be especially mentioned. It was a work of 
his earlier years at Heidelberg (1809-1814); and the final, 
standard edition was published in 1839. It is the work of 
a man of genius: and for scholarship, brilliancy, and 
exegetical tact, is perhaps unsurpassed. 

105. French translations.—In F Rance, many versions 
of parts of Scripture, made from the Vulgate, especially 
of the Psalter and Gospels, existed from a very early period. 
The evidence respecting them is scanty ; but there can be 
no doubt that Peter Valdo of Lyons gave an impulse to the 
translation of the Scriptures into the vernacular (the Romance 
dialect), which made the Waldenses a Bible-reading people, 
and called forth the prohibitions of synods and councils. 
The first printed French Bible was, however, the work of 
Guiars des Moulins, an ecclesiastic of Picardy, with others. 
It was printed in Paris, 1487. Another version, by J. Lefevre 
d’Etaples, was printed, anonymously, at Paris and Antwerp 
(1523-1528), and is a scholarly work, the renderings from the 
Vulgate being in several places corrected from the Greek. 
It was placed in the Index, 1546, but was republished in 
1550 without the renderings deemed ‘heretical.’ 

The first Protestant version was issued by P. R. Olivetan 
(1535), 2 relative of Calvin, with a considerable number of 
references from the LXX placed in the margin. This version 
followed in the Old Testament the Latin of Pagninus, in 
the New that of Erasmus. It was corrected, chiefly as to the 
language, by Calvin (1540); again, by Beza and others, under 
the editorship of Cornelius Bertram (Geneva, 1588). It has 
since, from time to time, undergone other alterations: the 
revisions by Martin (1707) and Ostervald (1721) are best 
known. A French version by Beausobre and L’Enfant 
(1718) was published at Amsterdam, and is highly esteemed 


i ha 


" 


EUROPEAN VERNACULAR VERSIONS 151 


for itsaccuracy. But all these editions, more or less founded 
upon Ostervald’s work, will probably be superseded by the 
translation of Dr. Louis Segond (Geneva, Old Testament, 
1874; New Testament, Oxford, 1880). 

Among translations by Romanist scholars from the 
Vulgate, several appeared in the seventeenth century, chiefly 
of the New Testament. Distinguished above the rest was 
the version by the Jansenists Antoine Lemaitre, Louis 
Lemaitre de Sacy, and Antoine Arnauld (1667), variously 
known as the Port Royal Bible, the Mons Bible (from the 
places of its first publication), and the Bible of De Sacy. 
Of this many editions have appeared. 

A translation of the Gospels by Lamennais (1846), and 
especially one by Henri Lasserre (1886), must be mentioned. 
The latter, of all recent versions, is the most essentially 
modern, of fine literary quality, and with true insight into 
the meaning of the sacred text. 

106. Other Languages of Europe.—By order of the 
Synod of Dort (1618), a version was made into. the Durcu 
language by a committee of able scholars, in place of the 
version made from Luther’s Bible, which had been used till 
then. This version was printed in 1637, and is highly 
valued for its fidelity. A revised edition of the New 
Testament appeared in 1867, but has failed to command 
general approval. 

An early Iratian version was made by Antonio Brac- 
cioli of Florence (1530-1532). Although a Romanist, he 
translated from the original texts. The work was con- 
demned by the ecclesiastical authorities, and is now very 
rare. The great Protestant version is that of Giovanni 
Diodati, Professor of Hebrew at Geneva (1607). It was 
made directly from the original texts, and is free, accurate, 
and clear. A version from the Vulgate, by Antonio Martini, 
Archbishop of Florence, was published at Turin in 1776, 
and has had considerable currency, even among Protestants, 


152 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


There are two versions of the Bible in Spanisn; the 
one made by a Romanist, Cassiodoro Reyna, Basel (Old 
Testament, 1569; New Testament, 1625), and the other by 
a Protestant, Cyprian de Valera (Amsterdam, 1602). They 
are founded chiefly on the Latin version of Pagninus, the 
second also partly on the Genevan-French Bibles. There 
are also three Spanish versions made from the Vulgate 
(14.78, 1793-4, 1824)*. 

In Portvuauese, the version chiefly circulated is that by 
J. Ferreira d’Almeida, a convert from Rome (New Testa- 
ment, 1712; Old Testament, 1719). Another version, by 
Anton Pereira de Figuerido, was printed in 1784, but has 
never obtained much currency. 


107. Versions by Missionaries.—The various transla- 
tions made by Missionaries in countries beyond Europe 
cannot here be enumerated. Among the great Bible trans- 
lators the names of Dr. William Carey in India (1761-1834), 
and of Dr. Robert Morrison in China (1782-1834), will ever 
hold a distinguished place. 


108. Tue EnciisH BIBLE. 


‘Who will say that the uncommon beauty and marvellous English 
of the Protestant Bible is not one of the great strongholds of heresy» 
in this country? It lives on the ear like a music that can never be 
forgotten, like the sound of church bells, which the convert hardly 
knows how he can forego. Its felicities often seem to be almost things 
rather than mere words. It is part of the national mind, and the 
anchor of national seriousness. The memory of the dead passes into 
it. The potent traditions of childhood are stereotyped in its verses. 
The power of all the griefs and trials of a man is hidden beneath its 
words. It is the representative of his best moments, and all that 
there has been about him of soft, and gentle, and pure, and penitent, 


® See Borrow’s Bible in Spain. 

> It must be remembered that Dr. Faber writes as a Romanist. 
His testimony is all the more valuable, as he speaks of the power of 
the English Scriptures as ‘ unhallowed,’ and of the veneration paid to 
them as ‘idolatry.’ 


THE ENGLISH BIBLE 153 


and good, speaks to him for ever out of his English Bible. It is his 
sacred thing, which doubt has never dimmed, and controversy never 
soiled. It has been to him all along as the silent, but oh! how 
intelligible voice of his guardian angel; and in the length and 
breadth of the land there is not a Protestant, with one spark of 
religiousness about him, whose spiritual biography is not in his 
Saxon Bible.—Dr. FrepERIcK Witiram Faber. 

‘The English Bib‘e is consecrated by the blood of martyrs. Wyclif 
was not murdered, but in revenge for his exemption his bones were 
exhumed and burned ; Tindale was strangled and consumed to ashes; 
Coverdale escaped almost by miracle; Rogers and Cranmer “loved 
not their lives unto the death”; the Genevan scholars were exiles 
while many of their brethren at home were perishing at Smithfield ; 
the Elizabethan bishops had heen in imminent peril during a season 
when the ‘“‘hour” was ruled by the ‘‘power of darkness.”’ The Divine 
presence was frequently and palpably apparent in moulding circum- 
stances, in paralysing the arm of opposition, and in cheering and 
supporting those who were walking in the furnace.’—Dr. Joun Eante, 
History of the English Bible, vol. ii. p. 333. 


109. Early English Versions.—The various Anglo- 
Saxon translations of parts of Scripture, like the older 
European versions, were made from the Vulgate. About 
the year 7oo, Aldhelm, the first Bishop of Sherborne, trans- 
lated the Psalms into Saxon; and Egbert, Bishop of Holy 
Island, the four Gospels. A little later, the ‘ Venerable’ 
Bede translated parts of the Bible, including the Gospel by 
John (a.D. 735). King Alfred prefixed to his Laws a 
version of the Ten Commandments; he also undertook to 
translate the Psalms, but died (900) when his work was 
about half finished. lfric ‘the Grammarian,’ an abbot 
in Wessex 2 about the end of the tenth century, translated 
the Pentateuch and some of the historical books. From 
the seventh century onwards there had been metrical 
summaries and paraphrases of Scripture, among which 
the chief was that of Cedmon, lay-brother and monk of 
Whitby, a true, although unlettered poet, who versified the 


* Probably a different person from the Archbishop of Canterbury of 
the same name (994-1006). 





ie. 
154 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED © 


translations dictated to him by his more learned brethren *, 
In the Norman period a monk of the northern part of the 
kingdom, named Orme, produced a similar metrical transla- 
tion of the Gospels, entitled Ormulum after his name (about 
1180)". Several ‘glosses,’ as they were termed, were pre- 
pared in monasteries, the Latin text, chiefly of the Psalter, 
but often of the Gospels, being accompanied by an inter- 
linear version in literal, often rude, Old English. Of these 
there are MSS. in many public libraries * 


110. The Wyclif Bible.—The first complete translation 
of the Bible into English was made also from the Vulgate, 
by John Wyclif, about a.p. 1380, and was revised after 
his death by his devoted fellow-labourer John Purvey. 
It existed only in MS. for many years, but the whole is 
now in print (New Testament, 1831 ; Old Testament, 1848, 
and both in the splendid edition of Forshall and Madden, 
1850). The work was regarded with grave suspicion ; and 
a bill was introduced into the House of Lords for suppress- 
ing it; but through the influence of John of Gaunt this 
was rejected. In 1408, however, the Convocation of the 
Province of Canterbury at Oxford resolved that no one 
should translate any text of Scripture into English, as a 
book or tract, and that no book of the kind should be read, 
publicly or privately, until approved by ecclesiastical au- 


* ‘He sang of the creation of the world, of the origin of man, and 
of all the history of Israel ; of their departure from Egypt and entering 
into the Promised Land ; of the incarnation, passion, and resurrection 
of Christ, and of His ascension; of the terror of future judgement, the 
horror of hell-pangs, and the joys of heaven.’—Berpx, Declesiastical 
History of the Anglo-Saxons. 

> He says in his dedication to his brother :— 

‘Iec hafe wennd inntill Ennglissh 
Goddspelless halighe lore.’ 
‘I have wend (turned) into English Gospel’s holy lore.’ 
“Phe time is that of Henry II (died 1189). 

© The Bodleian Library has a remarkable MS. entitled Salus Anim, 

or Sowle-hele, containing a paraphrastic version of Scripture. 


THE ENGLISH BIBLE 155 


thority, on pain of the greater excommunication. This 
edict led to great persecution, though there is reason to 
believe that, notwithstanding, many MSS. of Scripture 
_were in extensive circulation throughout England. 


111. Tindale’s Version and others.—The first printed 
edition of the New Testament in English, translated from 
the Greek, with help from the Latin Vulgate and Luther's 
German version, was published by William Tindale in 
1525, and the Pentateuch from the original Hebrew, 
in 1530. Tunstall, Bishop of London, and Sir Thomas More 
took great pains to buy up and burn the impression of the 
New Testament, but with the effect thereby of enabling the 
translator to publish a larger and improved edition *. 

Just prior to the death of Tindale, martyred at Vilvorde 
in 1536, Miles Coverdale translated the Bible from ‘the 
Douche and Latyn,’ using also Tindale’s translations, and 
published the edition with a dedication to King Henry VIII, 
A.D. 1535. This was the first complete version of the 
English printed Bible. In 1537 John Rogers, who had 
assisted Tindale, and was then residing at Antwerp, reprinted 
an edition, taken mainly from Tindale and Coverdale, but 
also bearing traces of careful revision. This was a great 
improvement on the edition of 1535, and may be regarded 
as the true editio princeps of the English Bible. It was 
published under the assumed name of Thomas Matthew. 

The Great Bible appeared a. D. 1539. It was Coverdale’s, 
revised by the translator, under the sanction and with the 
aid of Thomas Cromwell. It was printed in large folio. 
For the edition of 1540 Cranmer wrote a preface, and hence 
this and the subsequent folio editions are often incorrectly 


*» On the history of the English Bible, both external and internal, 
see The English Bible, by Dr. John Eadie ; Westeott’s General View of the 
English Bible (second edition); Demaus’ William Tindale; and a com- 
pendious little volume published by the Religious Tract Society, Ye 
Printed English Bible, 1525-1885, by Richard Lovett, M.A. 


FF. 
y tr 
" y 
A —-. 


156 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED ae i 


called Cranmer’s Bible. It was published ‘by authority.’ 
From this volume the Prayer-book Version of the Psalter 
is taken, with some slight variations. 

During the seven years of King Edward VI, eleven 
editions of the Scriptures were printed: but no new version 
or revision was attempted. 

The Geneva New Testament was published during the 
reign of Mary in 1557; the complete Bible, with an 
entirely new version of the New Testament, in 1560. 
Coverdale and others who had taken refuge in Geneva 
edited it, and added marginal annotations, expository, 
doctrinal, practical, and sometimes highly controversial. 
This was the first Bible printed in a handy size, in Roman 
type, and unhappily with verse divisions. 

Archbishop Parker obtained authority from Queen Eliza- 
beth to revise the existing translations, and, with the help 
of various bishops and others, published in 1568 what was 
called the Bishops’ Bible. This also contains short annota- 
tions, and the text is divided, like the Genevan, into verses. 
An edition in quarto was printed in 1569, and a second 
folio edition in 1572. This Bible continued in common 
use in the churches for forty years, though the Geneva 
Bible was almost universally read in private, and frequently 
found in the churches also. It was not finally superseded 
_ until the middle of the seventeenth century. 

The English Bible of the Romanists was produced by the 
divines of the English College at Douay in Flanders, removed 
for a few years to Rheims. Among the chief translators 
was William Allen, designated as Archbishop of Canterbury 
had the Spanish Armada succeeded in its enterprise. The 
New Testament appeared at Rheims, 1582; the Old 
Testament at Douay, 1609-10. Both are affirmed on their 
respective title-pages to be translated ‘ out of the authentical 
Latin, diligently compared with the { Hebrew, | Greeke, and 
other editions in divers languages.’ This version is 


THE ENGLISH BIBLE 157 


remarkable for its Latinisms*. A ‘Table of References’ 
is appended, in which the texts are classified that are 
thought to support Romanist doctrine. The annotations 
all through bear in the same direction, and this edition 
is disfigured by the most aggressive and violently con- 
troversial notes found in any edition of the Bible. 


112. The ‘Authorized Version.’—In 1603 King James 
resolved on a revision of the translation, and for this 
purpose appointed fifty-four men of learning and piety. 
Forty-seven only undertook the work, and in four years 
(1607-11) it was completed. The text, as thus prepared 
and printed in 1611, is generally known as the Authorized 
Version, although no direct evidence is to-be found of its 
appointment by authority, whether civil or ecclesiastical. 
The Preface of the Translators To the Reader, retained in 
the earlier editions, deserves to be carefully studied. 

For a long time, the Great Bible, the Geneva Bible, the 
Bishops’ Bible, and King James’s Version were used concut- 
rently ; the last at length prevailing by general consent, and 
so becoming Tue Brztz of all English-speaking peoples. 


113. Proposals for Revision.—Suggestions for revising 
this translation have, almost from the first, been made. 
A Committee appointed in the days of the Commonwealth 
to inquire into the possibility of improving it reported, that 
while it contained some mistakes, it was in their judgement 
“the best of any translation in the world.’ Nor is it only 
as a translation that this verdict holds good. The genius 
of the first translators, Wyclif, Coverdale, Tindale, with 
the reverent care and literary skill of the revisers in 1611, 


2 e.g. Ps 23° ‘My inebriating chalice, how goodly is it!’ In the Lord’s 
Prayer ‘Give us this day our supersubstantial bread.’ On the other 
hand, our Bible has been enriched by the Rheims translators with 
some felicitous renderings. Thus Phil 121 ‘To me to live is Christ, 
and to die is gain.’ Previous translations had ‘Christ is to me life, 
and death is to me advantage.’ 


158 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED tua Uy 


combined to impress upon it the character of a great English 
classic: and it is no mean advantage that a book which 
contains the revelation of God should also by the perfection 
of its style win its way to the minds and hearts of men. 

114. The Revised English Bible.—Still, unquestionable 
errors and defects remained ; and the question of revision 
was much discussed after the middle of the nineteenth 
century, eminent scholars taking part in the debate, and 
many attempts at improvement being made, both in Great 
Britain and America. At length, the work was under- 
taken by the Convocation of the Canterbury Province of 
the English Church, and two Companies of Revisers were 
appointed for the Old and New Testaments respectively 
(thirty-seven for the former and twenty-seven for the latter), 
representing different Christian communions, while similar 
companies were afterwards formed for the United States 
(fifteen for the Old Testament, nineteen for the New). 
The result of their labours, the Revised New Testament, was 
published in 1881, the complete Revised Bible in 1885. 

The work is throughout based upon the Authorized 
Version. It is a Revision, not a New Translation; while 
it was associated with a new and careful examination 
of the original texts, in the light of modern discovery 
and criticism. Great attention was paid to every minute 
detail, including orthography and punctuation. To secure 
as general a consent as possible in so large a body of 
scholars, it was agreed at the outset of their work that 
no change should be introduced without the consent of 
at least two-thirds of the respective companies; other 
proposed alterations, some of which commanded an actual 
plurality of votes, being relegated to the margin. This 
margin is therefore of high importance, and will be increas- 
ingly valued as the use of the Revision extends. 

What will be the future of the work, it is for another 
generation to decide. The following paragraphs illustrate 


ENGLISH BIBLE: EMENDATIONS 159 


in various ways its indispensableness to students of the 
English Bible *. 

115. English Translations compared with the 
Original.—It remains to be asked, Are the English 
versions of the Bible accurate ; and may the reader regard 
them as, on the whole, expressive of the mind of the Spirit 
of God? The question relates to the two versions now in 
the hands of all readers; and to a great extent the same 
remarks will apply to both ; while the alterations made by 
the Revisers will deepen rather than destroy our confidence 
in our old and familiar Bible. 

The nature of the emendations introduced must be con- 
sidered under different heads; a few only of the more 
important, out of a multitude available, being quoted by 
way of illustration. 

The textual changes have been discussed in a previous 
chapter ; the following instances are from translation only ; 
and the Authorized Version is quoted where no further 
reference is given. | 

In six distinct cases, alteration, generally slight, brings 
out the sense more clearly. 

1. In some instances the English version gave a wrong 
meaning to the words or expressions of the original. 


In Gen 36*4 one Anah is said to have ‘found the mules in the 
wilderness’; he really found ‘ hot springs’ there (R. V.). In Ex 12*° 
the Israelites are said to have ‘ bor owed’ of the Egyptians things which 
they never intended to return. The original says simply, that they 
asked for them. In 2 Sa 12°! it would appear that David cruelly 
tortured his captives. He put them to ignominious employments, is the mean- 
ing proposed by Rosenmiiller (see Kk. V. margin). So in the clause 
following : ‘made them pass through,’ with a very slight change in 
the original becomes ‘made them labour at.’ 


® The references given are mostly from the former editions of this 
Handbook. A few have been omitted, and several have been added. 
The Handbook in numberless instances anticipated the changes that 
have been made; the author, as is well known, having been among 
the most influential of the Revisers. 





160 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED D 


It may be observed, generally, that the use of prepositions and 
particles is often indeterminate in our version. For sometimes means 
because, 2 Cor 5); it is often a preposition denoting relation : instead of, 
on account of, with a view to. So, of means from, as in Jn 8 (R.V.); 
and by, as in 1 Cor 15°. These ambiguities are not in the original. The 
word translated ‘children’ in the narrative of Elisha, 2 Ki 2%, is 
translated elsewhere ‘young men’; and is applied to Isaac when 
he was twenty-eight years old, and to Joseph when he was thirty. 

In 2 Ki 6% the article sold for five shekels of silver was a kind 
of pulse, or vetch, as Bochart has shown; the fourth part of a kab 
being about a pint. Gen 4”, for ‘set a mark upon,’ read (R. V.) 
‘appointed a sign for.’ Lev 7'°, for ‘mingled with oil and dry,’ read 
(R. V.) ‘or dry’ (i.e. whichever it be). Dt 33%5, for ‘shoes,’ iron 
and brass, read (It. V.) ‘bars,’ describing the chain of mountains 
which protected Asher from the inroads of the Gentiles. Judg 15°", 
for ‘ top,’ read ‘cleft.’ Jos. 2414-15, for ‘the flood,’ read ‘the River’ 
(i.e. Euphrates). 1 Ki 18*, for ‘he cast himself down upon,’ read 
‘he bowed down to.’ 2 Ch 8?, for ‘restored,’ read (R. V.) ‘ given.’ 
2Ch 21", for ‘compelled thereto,’ read ‘led astray,’ as in Dt 41° 30%”, 
Ne 611, for ‘ to save his life,’ read ‘and live’ (see R. V. margin). Not 
being a priest, Nehemiah was not allowed to enter the holy place. 
Ps 86°, for ‘I am holy,’ read ‘I am a derout man,’ or, ‘the object 
of Thy favour.’ 

‘Light’ should be ‘lamp’ in Jn 5°%° Rev 217% In Acts 124 
‘Easter’ should be ‘the Passover’; and in 19% ‘churches’ ought to 
be ‘temples.’ It would have been well always to discriminate between 
the different words rendered ‘ miracles’ in the A. V., ‘signs,’ ‘mighty 
works,’ and ‘ wonders’ ; the first conveying spiritual truth, the second, 
‘supernatural power,’ and the third producing astonishment and awe. 
On all these passages, see the R. V. 

In Jn 10***°, for ‘any man,” ‘no man,’ read ‘any,’ (R. V.) ‘no one.” 
In Ac 7*, for ‘that came after,’ read (R.V.) ‘in their turn.’ In Ac 
17°83, for ‘ignorantly,’ read ‘ without knowing Him.’ In Ae 22%, for 
‘east off,’ read ‘threw up.’ In Ae 26}, for ‘to turn them,’ read 
(R. V.) ‘that they may turn.’ In Ac 27!°, for ‘lieth,’ read ‘looketh,’ 
lit. down the south-west wind and down the north-west wind, i. e. 
facing the NE. and SE. Verse 15, for ‘into the wind,’ read ‘against 
the wind’ (R.V. ‘could not face the wind’). In 2 Cor 3, for 
‘who hath made us able ministers,’ read ‘who hath fitted us to be 
ministers’ (R. V. ‘made us sufficient as ministers’). In Gal 4% the 
history of the sons of Hagar and Sarah is said to. be an ‘allegory,’ or 
a fictitious narrative. The Apostle merely says that it represents 
important spiritual truth (R. V. ‘contains an allegory’): i.e. the Jews 
of the Apostles’ day (‘ Jerusalem that now is’) answered to Ishmael ; 


ENGLISH BIBLE: EMENDATIONS 161 


and true believers—the Church—to Isaac, the heir of the promise. 
In 2 Pet 15, for ‘and beside this, read ‘and for this very reason’ 
(see R.V.). Miletus (not wm), Euodia (not as), Urbanus (not e), are 
the correct renderings ; Joshua is less liable to mistake than Jesus 
(Ac 7* Heb 48), and ‘Marcus,’ ‘Lucas,’ should be, as elsewhere, 
‘Mark’ and ‘ Luke.’ 


2. In some cases the full force of the original is not 
expressed in the A. V. 


In Jn 1'4, the Word is said ‘to have dwelt among us’: the original 
connects His appearance with the ancient tabernacle as the dwelling- 
place of the Divine glory (R. V. margin, ‘tabernacled’). In t Cor 4", 
the Apostles are said to have been made as ‘ the filth of the earth’: 
literally, ‘the sweepings’ (classical usage), or ‘appeasing offerings’ 
(LXX and classical usage), R.V. margin, ‘refuse.’ ‘Rid of us, the 
world will deem itself comparatively clean’; or ‘it offers us in 
expiation to its gods,’ Jn 16%. In Heb 12? Christians are described 
as ‘looking to Jesus’: the original implies, looking up to Him, and 
away from every other object of trust (A. V. margin). In 2 Tim 2°, 
read ‘if a man contend in the games.” Soin 1 Corg™. Int Th 4°, 
read ‘in that matter.’ 

Sometimes the older translators neglected the peculiar expressive- 
ness of the original, substituting a tamer phraseology. Several instances 
of this kind occur in the rendering of the so-called ‘hendiadys*,’ 
where a literal translation would have more accurately conveyed the 
sense of the original. Thus Ro 87}, ‘the liberty of the glory of the 
children of God’; Phil 3”!, ‘the body of our humiliation’; Col 1%, 
‘the Son of His love’; 1 Tim 111, ‘the gospel of the glory of the 
blessed God.’ See also 2 Cor4* Eph 1° 4°%*4 Col 12 2 Th 17 Tit 28 
r Pet 114 1 Tim 6". 

In several passages the sense of the original is weakened in A. V. by 
a disregard of the force of the Greek Article, an inaccuracy evidently 
due to the Vulgate, the Latin having no definite article. Generally 
speaking, the article recognizes the object of thought as definite, or 
familiar, or well understood ; in many cases also it refers to previous 
mention. Thus, we should read with R.V., ‘the virgin,’ Mt 178 
(Is 7°); ‘the mountain,’ Mt 5! 1475; ‘the synagogue,’ Lu 7°; ‘the 
half-shekel,’ Mt 17°4; ‘the way of escape,’ 1 Cor to!5; ‘the Amen,’ 
1 Cor 141°; ‘the crown of righteousness,’ 2 Tim 4°; ‘the great tribu- 
lation,’ Rev 714. “Definiteness is also marked in such references as 
those to the usual furniture, &c., in a house; Mt 5° Jn 135. For 
other usages see Mt 4° Mk 4° Lu 216 Jn 6% Ac 1 Ro 5! x Cor 12! 


® “Ev Sia Svoiv, ‘one thought in double expression.’ 
M 


162 





1 Cors5*. In1 Th 4}', for ‘even as others,’ read ‘even as the rest of 
the world” In x Cor 4", read ‘and then shall every man have of God 
the praise that is ITis.. Some of these corrections may at first sight 
appear unimportant; but many of them will repay careful study *. 
For others, often of deep theological significance, see Ch. VIII, § 133. 

On the other hand there are cases in which the absence of the 
article is rightly noted in the R. V. either by the indefinite a, an. or 
by the omission of the article inserted in A.V. Such instances are Lu 
2", ‘ye shall find a babe’; Lu 3% 7° 19'° Ac 184 (referring respectively 
to some of the soldiers, elders, bond-servants, Jews, Greeks) ; Lu 6", 
‘on a level place,’ i.e. in the mountain, as Mt 54; Lu 1o®, ‘a son of 
peace,’ a person well disposed to the message; Jn 4°, ‘Jews have no 
dealings with Samaritans’; 4%’, ‘He was speaking with a woman’; 
Ac 4°, ‘a good deed done to,an impotent man’ ; 14”, ‘a door of faith’; 
177°, ‘to an unknown God’; 2 Cor 3°, ‘ministers of a new covenant’; 
1 Tim 6", ‘the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.’ Other 
instances out of many are Mk 12% Ac 6'6 738 18! 3 Cor 122 61% 
9” 2 Pet 24 3°; Rev 14°, ‘an eternal gospel.’ To this list Lu 12°) 
and Mt 12‘!4? might advantageously have been added: ‘Men of 
Nineveh,’ ‘a queen of the south.’ Still more instruetive are the 
correction in Jn 5%? (R.V. margin, and American revised text), 
‘because He is a son of man’; and that in Heb 1? (R. Y. margin), 
God hath spoken unto us ‘in a Son’; compare Rev 18 14". All 
these changes rightly ‘ throw emphasis on the character of the subject 
instead of the concrete subject itself’ (Westcott). 

The Hebrew article, though less definite than the Greek, is often 
important. In Ex 17, read ‘in the book’ (viz. of the Law); in 
Ps 89°", read ‘as the faithful witness in the sky’ (the rainbow). 


_ 3. In some cases the peculiar idiom of the original has 
been:overlooked. 


In 1 Cor 4* ‘I know nothing by myself’ is ‘I am not conscious of 
anything’ (viz. wrong ‘against myself’ R. V.). In Gal 57 ‘cannot’ 
should be ‘may not.’ In Ac 17%, for ‘devotions,’ read ‘objects of 
devotion.’ In 1 Cor 1*', for ‘the foolishness of preaching,’ read ‘the 
foolishness of the preaching,’ i.e. with special reference to the doctrine 
preached. SoLutr*. In 2 Pet 2°, read ‘ Noah, with seven others’ (R. V.). 
In Heb 1218, read ‘the mountain that could be touched.’ 

Both in the Old and New Testament, again, verbs are sometimes 
translated in the wrong tenses. 

The present translation of Jn 13”, ‘supper being ended,’ contradicts 


® For other instances, see Handbook to Grammar of the Greek New Testa- 
ment (R. T.S.). § 213. 


ENGLISH BIBLE: EMENDATIONS 163 


verses 26, 28. The original is ‘supper being come.’ So in Ae 24”, for 
*such as should be saved,’ read‘ such as were being saved.’ So 1Cor1}8 
2 Cor 216 48, In Lu 5°, read ‘began to break,’ or ‘was breaking’ 
(see verse 7). So Mt 874 Lu 8% Mk 457 1 Cor 1178. 

In 2 Cor5", read ‘then are all dead,’ or ‘have all died.’ In 2 Cor 1223, 
for ‘I knew,’ read ‘I know.’ In Lu 23%, read ‘ And Jesus cried with 
a loud voice, saying.’ In Philem, verse 21, for ‘I wrote,’ read ‘I 
have written,’ as in verse 19. See also Jas 271 1 Th 11°. 

In some parts of the Old Testament the numbers mentioned seem 
enormously large, and may be corrected by the ididm. 

It is said, for example, that at Bethshemesh (a small town) the 
Lord smote 50,070 men, 1 Sa 61°: and in Judg 12° there are said to 
have fallen of the Ephraimites 42,000: while a short time before the 
tribe contained only 32,500 persons. Both passages are possibly to be 
corrected by a mode of notation still common among the Arabians. 
They say ‘in the year 12 and 300’ for 312. Translating literally, we 
have for the first passage, ‘the Lord smote seventy men, fifties and 
a thousand,’ or 1170. Some, however, think that seventy men only 
are intended, the remaining numbers being atranscriber’serror. And 
for the second, ‘there fell of the Ephraimites 40 and 2000,’ or 2040. 

It deserves to be noticed generally that numerical statements in 
Oriental languages are peculiarly liable to error in transcription. 

In the Hebrew, for example, 8 is 1; Nis 1000; 1 is 2; } is 20; tstands 
for 7ooo ; ; for 700; and the one letter being inadvertently written in 
very early copies for the other has given rise to some apparent contra- 
dictions, 2Sa 8* 1 Ch 18%. There is a similar error in 2 Sa 10%*, 700 (j) ; 
see 1 Ch 19'*, 7000 (3). 1 Ki 4°, 40,000; see 2Ch 97°, gooo. 1 Ki 9”, 
550; see 2 Ch 8", 250 (35). 1 Ki 978, 420; see 2Ch 88, 450. 2 Ki 875, 
22; see 2 Ch 22, qa. 


4. In some cases, the same word in the original is 
rendered by different words in the English, sometimes 
impairing the effect of a sentence, and occasionally suggesting 
a difference in meaning where none exists. 


In Is 37* an accurate translation would suggest that the insult 
Rabshakeh had offered to Judah was to recoil upon himself. He 
reproved Judah, and God reproved him. Soin otherantithetic sentences, 
t Cor 13%? ‘If any one destroyeth the temple of God, him will God 
destroy.’ Compare Mt 21*! ‘He will miserably destroy those miserable 
men.’ In Ps 132° ‘ the fields of the wood’ is the translation of what is 
really a proper name, ‘of Jearim,’ as it is given in 1 Ch 135 ‘ Kirjath’ 
(or the city of) ‘Jearim.’ In Lev 19°, ‘at your own will,’ should rather 
be ‘that it may be accepted of you,’ as in verse 7, and so 227%71, 


M2 


Pa cae Ls 
4 aE 
* Pees a ae 


Wi 


164 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


In Mt 25*° the eternal life of the righteous and the everlasting punish- 
ment of the wicked are expressed by the same word. To ‘apprehend’ 
may be translated to lay hold of or obtain in Phil 31%, as in 1 Cor 9*. 
The same word is translated ‘ imputed,’ ‘ counted,’ and ‘ accounted’ 
in Ro 4° Gal 3° Jas2™. ‘Attendance’ is everywhere translated ‘ heed’ 
or ‘attention,’ except in 1 Tim 4%. ‘Comforter’ (Jn 14° 15%6 16") is 
the word translated ‘advocate’ in 1Jn 2}, and the idea is given in the 
word ‘consolation’ in Lu 2%, and elsewhere. In 2 Cor 3 and Heb 8 
‘covenant’ and ‘testament’ represent the same words. Im Ac 19? 
a phrase is translat®d ‘ if there be’ a Holy Ghost, which perhaps ought 
to be rendered, as in Jn 7°°, ‘whether the Holy Ghost was given.” 

Such variations are sometimes perplexing: as Mk 15°%, ‘darkness 
over all the land’; Lu 234, ‘darkness over all the earth’; Mk 10%, 
‘thy faith hath saved thee’; Lu 184%, ‘thy faith hath made thee whole.’ 
The alternative of ‘love’ and ‘ charity,’ for the same word, is more 
defensible ; but still it creates difficulties. In 2 Cor 5}° much is lost 
by not translating, as in other parts of the chapter, ‘we must all be 
made manifest before the judgement-seat of Christ.’ 

The following should be translated uniformly : 1 Cor 15°**6 (put 
down); Ro 5751! (rejoice, glory, joy); Ro 8'*2 (creature, creation) ; 
Mt 20°!; Mk ro‘? (charged, rebuked); Mk 8°56 (life, soul); 1 Cor 145; 
Eph 1° (in, by); 1 Cor 7!*15 (leave, put away). See also Heb 34 4° 9” 
(verse 14) 18 10? Tit 2 1 Jn 17 Jn 152° and Ro 12” 155 Heb ro. 

In the Revised Version the plan of uniform translation has been 
carried out wherever possible, while it has not been forgotten that, as 
the translators of 1611 expressed it, ‘there be some words that be not 
of the same sense everywhere.’ These translators may have carried 
variation to too great a length, on the curious principle of not honour- 
ing one word above another. Probably their successors have gone to 
an opposite extreme, as the genius of the English language is to avoid 
tautology by the judicious use of synonyms. 


5. On the other hand, different words in the original are 
often rendered by the same word in English, where it is 
important to preserve variety. 


JeHovaH, in the Old Testament, is the Covenant God—God as 
revealed to Israel. ‘The Lord’ is a more general word, of various 
application, signifying ‘my Master’ (see Ps 110"). The use of capital 
letters in the English version for Lorp in the former sense marks 
the distinction to the eye (although not always sufficiently noted by 
readers) ; but to the ear it is lost, as when the Scriptures are read 
in public worship. The American Revisers of the Old Testament 
observe the distinction, to the great advantage of their version, 


ENGLISH BIBLE: EMENDATIONS 165 


In the Old Testament the word ‘ vanity’ represents three Hebrew 
words at least, one meaning ‘breath’ or nothingness, as in Ps 62°; 
another meaning wicked, profitless deception, as the heathen idols, 
Is 41°; and a third meaning falsehood, as in Ps 418 Job 31%. All 
these terms convey sometimes the ideas of profitlessness and of sin ; 
but the first especially is used to indicate mere insignificancy. In Ps 
8947 the sense is, How vain (fleeting, insignificant) are the sons of 
men, whom Thou hast created ! 

The word ‘repentance’ is used to translate a word denoting that 
change of disposition (ueravoia) to which the term is properly applied : 
and this is the common meaning. But it is also used to translate 
another word, denoting merely regret or a change of plans (uerapedeia), 
without implying any change of disposition. This is the meaning 
in Mt 217-8? 278 2 Cor 7%1° Heb 7%. Elsewhere, the former word 
is used. 

‘Conversation’ again is the translation of two words; and means 
(1) citizenship, as in Phil 329; and (2) everywhere else in the New 
Testament, cowrse of life, or behaviour. The Greek word for conversation, 
in the modern sense, is translated in our version ‘ communication,’ 
Mt 5°" Lu 2417 Eph 4?°, In 1 Cor 15%, however, ‘communication’ 
is the rendering of a word which signifies intercourse (R. V. company). 

‘Hell’ again means (1) the invisible state, the place of departed 
spirits, without reference to their condition of happiness or misery, 
hades; as in Mt 1125 1618 Lu ro! 1628 Ac 227-5! r Cor 1555 Rev 178 68 
201514 and (2) the place of future punishment, gehenna, in Mt 522-2980 
to? 189 231553 Mk 91-447 Tu 125 Jas 3° These two meanings are 
represented in the original and in the R. V. by different words. In 
the Old Testament the equivalent of hades is Sheol, as also given in 
RY. 

The word ‘temple’ is the translation of two words; and means 
either the whole consecrated precinct (iepdv), or the portion appro- 
priated as the local abode of God’s presence (vaés). In the former 
sense (including the outer or unroofed court) markets were held in it 
(Mt 211), and the rabbis met their pupils there. It is to the second 
that our Lord referred, when He said, ‘ Destroy this temple’ (alluding 
to the indwelling of the Diyine nature in His person). So is it applied 
to Christians in 1 Cor 31° 6", In this second sense, the R. V. margin 
explains by sanctuary. 

‘Ordained’ is the translation of several words; and means delermined 
in Ac to 17°4; and foredetermined in 1 Cor 2’. The word used in 
the following passages is different ; and means ordain, with the idea 
of setting in order, Ac 1348 Ro 13! Gal 3 x Cor ott. In Ac 16+ it 
represents a word that means to decide. In Eph 21°, to prepare (as in 
Ro 9% (so R.V.). In 1 Tim 2%, to appoint (as in 2 Tim 1! Ac 13%? 





166 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


Ac 20%), In Heb 5} 85, to constitute or establish. In Ju, verse 4, to 
write up in the face of men, or denounce, or to write concerning a thing before- 
hand (R. V. set forth). Im Ac 17? and Ro 7"° there is no corresponding 
word in the original. 

The word ‘ devils’ (pl.) should always be translated demons or evil 
spirits : and the word ‘ devil’ should be translated demon, as R. V. 
margin and American Revisers, in the following passages: Mt 9% 
1118 722? y522 y718 ; Mark throughout ; Lu 45°55 738 r117 Jn 720 848-40-52, 
In all other passages the word used is rightly translated the devil, as 
in Mt 4' Rev 207. 

‘ Will’ is sometimes the translation of the future ; but sometimes 
of an independent verb, as in Jn 5*° 77 84 Mt rr? 16%26 917-21 
Lu 9* 13°! r Pet 3" Rev 11%. In all these passages, excepting 
Jn 5*°, the distinction is noted in R. V. In two passages ‘I would’ 
expresses a duty in addition to a wish (dpedov), Gal 512 Rey 3”. 
‘Shall’ is sometimes used imperatively, and sometimes as a simple 
future. It is a simple future in Mt 17°? Mk ro* Ae 23° Ro 4* 
88, The word translated ‘shall’ in some of these passages (“éAAw) 
is translated ‘will’ or ‘would’ in Mt 2™ Lu ro! (‘was about to,” 
R. V.) Jn 6° 755 142? Ac 167 (‘ was about to,’ R. V.) 25! (ib.) 271° Rev 31°. 
Simple futurity is expressed in each. On the other hand, duty or 
necessity (Sef) is found in Mt 26° (‘must,’ R.V.). This is the word 
generally translated ‘ must’ or ‘ought.’ 

In Jn 13! the true meaning of the passage is obscured by the repeti- 
tion of the word ‘wash’; see R.V. The following words again may 
be instructively compared: ‘know’ for full Christian knowledge, as 
Eph 11’, in distinction from ordinary knowledge; ‘keep’ in Jn 17%; 
‘ people,’ ‘peoples’ in Old and New Testaments; and ‘ teach’ compared 
with the word to ‘ make disciples,’ Mt 13°? 2757 28" Ac 14%, 


6. Some of the expressions of the English Bible are 
obsolete in the sense in which the Translators used them. 


116. In accordance with the last observation it will be 
useful to distinguish, as in the following Table, between 
archaic words belonging to a former stage of the English 
language, and current words which have altered in meaning. 
In some cases the Revisers have retained the former, as 
not liable to be misunderstood. 

In the following list R. and R. V. refer to both revisions ; 


ENGLISH BIBLE: ARCHAISMS 167 


A. R. to the American revision only; E.R. to the English 
version only ; m. is for margin. 


Abjects. Ps 35! R. V.m. smiters. 

Affect. Gal 4!" court. 

Allow. Lu 11% approve. 

All to. Judg 9°° entirely (read brake). R.V. omits. 

Amaze. Mk 10%? 14° bewildered (‘in a maze’) ; amazement, Ac 3° 
joy, I Pet 3° R. V. m. terror. 

Artillery. 1 Sa 20°° R. V. weapons. 

Astonied. Job 17° Is 52!, &c. A. R. astonished, Dn 5° R. perplexed. 
In Eze 3) astonished is altered in R. to astonied. 

Audience. 1 Sa 2574 Lu 7! R. V. cars, Lu 20% R. V. hearing; to give 
audience, Ac 13'6 15! R. to hearken. 

Away with. Is 11° put up with. 

Barbarian. 1 Cor 141! foreigner (comp. Ac 287), 

Bestead. Is 87! circumstanced, situated. 

Bestow. Lu 121718 put away (not give away). 

Bolled. Ex 9*! podded for seed, or as R. m. ‘in bloom.’ 

Bravery. Is 13!8 A. R. beauty (comp. Seotch ‘ braw’). 

Brigandines. Jer 46* R. coals of mail. 

By and by. Mt 13°! Lu 21° R.V. siraightway (immediately). 

Carriage. Judg 18?! R. V. goods (pl.), 1 Sa 17? Is 10%° Ac 21 R. V. 
baggage, Is 46! R. things that ye carried about. 

Charger(s). Num 7!°, &c. A.R. platler, Mt 14)! Mk 6°° (unaltered). 

Charity. 1 Cor 13 R. V. love. 

Coast(s). Ex 10o* Dt 2-18 Mt 216 Ac 13°, &c. R.V. borders, regions, 
uttermost parts, &e. (not implying sea). 

Comfort, 2. and v. (besides consolation). 1 Cor 14° R. V. exhortation, 
1 Th 5 R. V. encourage. 

Convenient. Ro 178 Eph 54 R. V. /itting, befitting, 1 Cor 16'? convenient 
time, R, opportunity. 

Conversation. Phil 37° 2 Pet 27 (manner of life). 

Convince. Tit 1° Jul’ Jn 8° Jas 2° R. convict, Ac 187° R. confute. 

Cunning. Ex 31‘ 1 Ki 17!4, &e. A. R. skilful. 

Curious. Ex 28° 35% Ac-19!% E.R. cunning, A. R. skilful. 

Damn, -ation. Mt 23!* Ro 38, &c. R. V. condemnation, Jo 579 Ro 13° 
R. V. judgement; damnable heresies, 2 Pet 2! heresics of destruction, i.e. 
leading to destruction. 

Daysman. Job 9* arbitrator, R.m. umpire. 

Deal. Ex 29*° R. V. part (or portion). 

Dispensation. 1 Cor 9}? R. V. stewardship. 

Draught, -house. Mt 1517 2 Ki 107” drain, sewer. 

Ear, -ed,-ing. Di 21* Gen 45° Ex 34?! R. VY. plow (Lat. arare). 


168 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


Emerods. 1 Sa5° R. tumours (hemorrhoids). 

Enlarge. Ps 4! R. V. set at large, 2 Cor 10" R. V. magnify. 

Ensue. 1 Pet 3! R. pursue. 

Entreated. Ac 27° E. R. treat, Gen 12" A. R. dealt well, Ex 5* Dt 26° 
(evil entreated), A. R. dealt ill with. 

Eschew, -ed. 1 Pet 3" R. turn away from, Job 1' (unaltered : avoided). 

Fats, n. Joel 2% A. R. vats. 

Fetched a compass. Jos 15° 2 Ki 3° Ac 28" R. V. made a circuit. 

Fray, v. Dt 28° scare, frighten. 

Goodman of the honse. Mt 20"! R. V. householder, Mt 24' Lu 12°? 
R. master of the house. 

Hale, v. Lu 12°* Ac 8 drag away. 

Harness. 1 Ki 22% 2 Ch 9% R.V. armour; harnessed, Ex 13 R. 
armed. 

Heir. Mic 15 Jer 49° R. V. possessor. 

His for its, R. V. (In Old English the mase, and neut. forms were 
the same.) 

Honest, -ly. Ac6° R.V. good, Ro 12!" 2 Cor 8", &. R. V. honourable, 
1 Pet 2" E.R. seemly, 1 Th 4 A. R. becomingly, Heb 138 A. R. honourably ; 
honesty, 1 Tim 2” R. V. gravity. 

Instant,-ly. Lu23°5 A. R. urgent, Ro 12” R. V. stedfastly, Lu 7* Ac 267 
R. V. earnestly. 

Jot or tittle. Mt 5'° (the smallest letter or part of a letter), 

Knop. Ex 25°55 sqq. ‘ knob.’ 

Leasing. Ps 475° R. V. falsehood, lies. 

Let (as well as ordinary meaning). Is 438 E. R. m. reverse, A. R. 
hinder, 2 Th 2? R.V. restrain. ‘There are two Anglo-Saxon verbs 
somewhat alike in spelling, but directly opposite in meaning, latan to 
permit, and Jettan to hinder.—Hasrines. Hence the apparent con- 
fusion. 

Lewd,-ness. Ac 17°18 R. V. vile, villany. 

Libertines. Ac 6° freed slaves, or the children of such. 

Marish. Eze 47! ‘marsh,’ an old form of the word. 

Minish, -ed. Ex 5!° Ps 107°° and E. R. Is19° Ho 8 ° A. R. diminish, -ed. 

Mortify. Ro 8 Col 3° A. R. put to death. 

Motions. Ro 7° R. V. passions. 

Mystery. Often a revealed secret, as Eph 1*1°; sometimes a doctrine. 
Mysteries = doctrines, 1 Cor 4'. 

Neese. 2 Ki 4° ‘sneeze’; neesings, Job 41'* A. R. sneezings. 

Nephews. Judg 12 Job 18° Is 14*° 1 Tim 5‘ R. V. sons’ sons, grand- 
children. 

Occupy. Eze 27”!° E.R. exchange, A. R. deal in, Lu 19 R. V. trade. 
So oceupation, as Ac 18°, 

Or ever. Ps 907 Pr 8°5 Dn 6"! even before. 





it i ie 


ENGLISH BIBLE: ARCHAISMS 169 


Offend. Mt 523° Jn 6% 2 Cor 117°, &. R.V. cause to stumble or to 
sin ; offence, Mt 167° 1 Cor 10% stumbling-block. 

Ouches. Ex 281! 30°, &c. A. R. settings (properly ‘nouches,’ Chaucer). 

Painful, -ness. Ps 73!° 2 Cor 1177 R. V. travail. 

Peculiar. Tit 2! 1 Pet 2° R. V. for (God’s) possession, Dt 7° 147 26% 
E. R. peculiar unto Himself, A. R. for His own possession, Dt 7° E. R. for A. V. 
special. 

Peep. Is 8! to! R.V. chirp (rather ‘cheep,’ the faint ery of 
a nestling.—Hastines). 

Poll, v. 2 Sa 147° Eze 442° Mic 116 A. R. cut (the hair). 

Prevent. Pst11g 147 A. R. anticipate, Mt 172° R. V. spake sirst to, 1 Th 4° 
R. V. precede. 

Provoke. 2 Cor 9? R.V. stirred up, Heb 107* Ro 11™ stimulate: else- 
where in a bad sense. 

Purge. Mt 3! Jn 15? Heb 9! R. V. cleanse (in any way). 

Quick, quicken. Num 16°° Ps 124° Heb 4!? R. V. living, make alive. 

Quit. 1 Sa 4° 1 Cor 16% ‘acquit.’ 

Reins. Ps 79 Is 11°, &c. Lit. ‘kidneys’: met. for emotions, affections. 

Religion, religious. Ac 134° R. V. devout: used chiefly of outward 
manifestation of piety Ac 26° Gal 11514 Jas 126-27, 

Road. 1 Sa 27!°R. V. raid. 

Room. Ps 31° Lu 14°10 R. V. place. 

Scrabble. 1 Sa 21 ‘scrawl’ (not connected with ‘scribble.’— 
Hastines). 

Serip. 1 Sa 1r7*° Lu 22° R.V. (in New Testament) wallet (a small 
bag for provisions, &c.). 

Several. 2 Ki 15° 2 Ch 26% A. R. separate (R. m. ‘a lazar house’). 

Sherd. Is 304 ‘shred’ or fragment (comp. ‘ potsherd ’). 

Shroud. Eze 31° covering, shelter. 

Sith. Eze 35° A. R. since. 

Skill, v. 1 Ki 5°2Ch 278 A. R. to know how. 

Sometimes. Eph 2'° R.V. once; sometime, 1 Pet 32° R. V. aforetime. 

Steads. 1 Ch 52? (R.V. ‘stead ’), places of abode. 

Straw, v. Mt 21° ‘strew,’ R. V. spread, Mt 257476 R. V. scatter. 

Stuff. 1 Sa 107? 2515 30% A. R. baggage, Lu 17°! R. goods. 

Tabering. Nah 2’ A. R. beating, as on a tabor. 

Take thought, to. 1Sao° A.R. be anzxious, Mt 68 Lu 1276 R. V. be 
anxious, Lu 24°° thoughts, E.R. reasonings, A. R. questionings. 

Target. 1 Sa 17° a light shield or buckler (R.V. reads javelin, from 
a different text). 

Trow. Lu 17° suppose. 

Usury. Mt 2577 Lu 1078 R. V. interest (in a general sense; not extor- 
tionate interest) ; usurer, Ex 227° R. V. creditor. 

Virtue. Mk 5°° Lu 6! 8'° R. V. power. Elsewhere, eacellency. 






Be . 
170 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


Ware. Ac 14° R. V. aware 

Wealth. 1 Cor 10% welfare. 

Wit, v. Gen 247! Ex 2 R.V. know; do you to wit, 2 Cor 8! R. make 
known to you; wist, Ex 16'5 Jos 2 A. R. knew; wot, Gen 21 39% Ex 32". 
A. R. know; Rom 11? A. R, know. 


On these words and others used in peculiar senses, a series of articles 
in Hastings’ Biblical Dictionary may be profitably consulted, 

117. Some sPEcIAL FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH VERSIONS 
are important : 

1. The use of italics, adopted by the Translators of 
1611 from earlier versions, which, in the language of the 
Genevan editors, inserted ‘words which, lacking, made the 
sentence obscure; but set them in such letters as may 
easily be discerned from the common text.’ The principal 
purposes of italics are :— 

(a) To indicate uncertainty as to the genuineness of the 
text : 1 Jn 2°, where, as the genuineness of the clause is now 
established, the R. V. prints it in ordinary type. In Jn 8° 
the italicized clause is omitted as an interpolation. 

(b) To point out words necessary to the sense ; as auxiliary 
verbs, the many uses of the verb ¢o be, unemphatie pronouns 
and particles, the words man, thing, &c., understood after 
adjectives, and often the conjunctions and and but. 





This usage in the A. V. is very irregular, often rendering the same 
original differently in the same chapter; thus Dt 2* ‘ye are to pass’; 
verse 18 ‘thou art to pass’; Ley ro!” ‘his sons that were left’; verse 
16 ‘the sons of Aaron which were left’ ; Dt 21° ‘ the slain man’ ; verse 6 
‘the slain man’; Job 5)5 ‘He taketh the wise in their own craftiness’; 
Pr 18 ‘ they lay wait for their own blood’; Lu 1777 ‘destroyed them 
all’; verse 29 ‘destroyed them all’; 197 ‘thou good servant’; verse 
22 ‘thou wicked servant’; Heb 3° ‘this man was counted worthy’; 
8° ‘ that this man have somewhat also to offer.’ In Lu 10™ ‘a certain 
man went down’; 15! ‘a certain man had two sons,’ where, however, 
the Greek expresses ‘man’ in both passages. Such inconsistencies 
are countless ; and the Revisers have introduced uniformity of usage, 
following the rule ‘to print no words in italics which are necessarily 
involved in the original*.’ This rule also applies to the word ‘not’ 


® The Cambridge Paragraph Bible, edited by Dr. Scrivener, also secures 


ENGLISH BIBLE: ITALICS: 171 


in such passages as Ps 75° Job 30°° Is 3818, where the Hebrew idiom 
implies a repeated negative. Some explain Dt 33° in the same sense ; 
see R. V. and margin. 


(c) To complete the sense in various ways, supplementing 
the brevity of the original. Such italic words and phrases 
_ are often felicitousiy introduced, but are at times uncertain ; 
and now and then they express a sense which is not in the 
sacred text. 


Of felicitous italics there are instances in Ps 100% ‘I give myself to 
prayer’; Pr 141+‘ A good man shall be satisfied from himself’; Ro 8° 
‘God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an 
offering for sin’ (R. V.) ; Heb 8° priests ‘who serve that which is a copy 
and a shadow of heavenly things,’ i.e. the tabernacle. See also Ex 
34” (compare Ps 71!) Job 32° Mt 2075 Jn 19°. Sometimes the italicized 
supplement is uncertain: Mal 11! ‘My name shall be great among the 
Gentiles’ ; some expositors preferring ‘ is great’ ; the difference being 
between a prophecy and a fact. Ps 24° ‘that seek Thy face, O God of 
Jacob,’ or (as margin, R.V.) ‘that seek Thy face, even Jacob’; i. e. 
these are the true Jacob. So Ps 68! should probably read ‘ Jehovah 
is among them; Sinai 7s in the Sanctuary.” The Temple is another 
Sinai, where God is manifest to His people. x Pet 51° the church, 
probably correct; R.V. has simply she. Unnecessary or erroneous 
italics in A.V. are in Job 1976 (worms) ; Ac 28* (venomous) ; Heb 2'° 
(the nature of). See also 1 Cor 14? Jn 20" Ac 27%4. In Ac 7°° the Lord 
is a preferable addition, An interesting insertion is that of the 
word saying in Pr 3178, showing that the husband’s commendation is 
expressed. 

Appropriate additions, marked in both versions by italics, are: (1) 
the unexpressed conclusion of conditional sentences—the ‘ apodosis’ : 
as Gen 3077 ‘If I haye found favour in thine eyes, ‘arry’; Lu 13° ‘If 
it bear fruit, well.’ (2) the mark of transition from indirect to direct 
speech, as Ac 14 ‘the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have 
heard of Me.’ See also Gen 4% Ex 18%. (3) Cases of zeugma, where 
two clauses are united under a verb which strictly applies only to one. 
Here the English idiom requires a second verb: Dt 4! ‘ye saw no 
similitude, only ye heard a voice’; 2 Ki 11? ‘he put the crown upon 
him, and gare him the testimony’; Lu 1% ‘his mouth was opened 
immediately, and his tongue loosed’ ; 1 Tim 4° ‘ Forbidding to marry, 
and commanding to abstain from meats.’ For similar forms of ex- 


uniformity, but on the reverse plan, by printing all such words -in 
italics, 


172 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


pression, see Gen 4°° Ex 3'° 1 Cor 3” (where fed in original is literally 
‘given you to drink,’ necessarily changed to a neutral word in trans- 
lating). (4) Omissions supplied from parallel passages. Sometimes 
these are evidently needful to the sense, as Judg 2 Num 20° 2 Ki 
25° 1 Ch 175 18° 2 Ch 25%. In other cases they are doubtful: 
2 Sa 21!° the brother of; 8* chariots; Jer 6™ of the daughter, where the 
sentences are complete without the added words. They are probably 
correct, but they are exposition rather than translation, and are marked 
in R. V., where see margin. 


Occasionally italics are unnecessary, and even obscure the 
sense. Thus Ps 19°, read ‘There is no speech nor language: 
their voice is not heard’ (compare Addison’s paraphrase). 
Ps 133°, read ‘As the dew of Hermon that descended upon 
the mountains of Zion.’ The subject of the psalm is the 
unity of brethren; and this is illustrated by the dew of 
heaven, which comes down alike upon the loftiest and the 
lowliest heights. 


118. The Margin.—This valuable adjunct to many 
editions of the A. V., and to all editions of the R. V., contains 
different renderings of words and phrases, in two forms: (1) 
the literal translation of the Hebrew or Greek, where the 
English idiom requires a different turn of expression. Such 
instances are often picturesque and suggestive, and should 
on no account be overlooked ; (2) alternative translations in 
doubtful cases. In the R. V. these are very numerous, and 
worthy of careful note, especially as they often express the 
opinion of a majority of the Revisers, since no change was 
introduced into the text, excepting by a vote of two-thirds. 
The margin of the R. V., and to some extent that also of the 
A. V., indicates the most important various readings. On 
this see further in the chapter on Textual Criticism, § 62. 


The margin of the A. V. also contains a large selection of parallel 
passages, as compiled by the Translators of 1611, with large additions 


* The earlier English versions contain also in the margin expository 
notes, exegetical, doctrinal, hortatory, and sometimes of a highly 
polemic character. 


ENGLISH BIBLE: THE MARGIN 173 


by subsequent editors, especially by Dr. Paris (1762) and Dr. Blayney 
(1769). Special editions, as Bagster’s Comprehensive Bible (1828), the 
Annotated Paragraph Bible of the R.T.S. (1893), and the Cambridge Para- 
graph Bible (1873), contain further selections. But these will probably 
be ultimately superseded by tne series of references prepared for the 
English Revisers (1898), in which the selection and arrangement of 
passages are for the first time reduced to a definite system. The 
references indicate : (1) quotations, or exact verbal parallels ; (2) pas- 
sages similar in idea or expression; (3) passages explanatory or 
illustrative; (4) historical, geographical, and personal names else- 
where occurring ; and (5) passages that illustrate differences of 
rendering, A. V.and R.V. Not the least valuable feature of this new 
series is the avoidance of a multitude of erroneous or non-applicable 
references which had accumulated in course of time®. It is also an 
advantage in the R. V. that its two margins are kept entirely distinct 
from each other, 

The A.V. margin contains also a series of chronological notes, 
principally dates, known by usage as ‘The Received Chronology,’ 
sometimes even as ‘The Bible Chronology.’ These are mainly from 
Archbishop Ussher’s Annals of the Old and New Testaments (1650), and 
were first included in the edition of 1701, by Dr. W. Lloyd, Bishop of 
Worcester. These notes are undoubtedly useful, in indicating the 
succession and relation of events ; but the more accurate investigations 
of modern times have shown their incorrectness in many particulars, 
and they are not therefore to be relied upon. They are entirely 
absent from the R.V. See further the sections on Curonotoey, §§ 195- 
203, and the TaBies in Appenpix I. 


119. The Summaries of Chapters in the A. V. have 
nothing correspondent in the original, and are without 
authority >, Some are really expositions, as in the Song of 
Solomon; others are doubtful in point of fact, as the 
identification in Lu 7 of ‘the woman that was a sinner’ 
with Mary Magdalene. The headings to Gen 18 and 32 
explain the ‘men’ spoken‘of in the text as angels, and that 

® Dr. Scrivener in his Preface to the Cambridge Paragraph Bible gives 
a long and remarkable list of such errors. 

b> It was an original instruction to the Revisers to examine and 
rectify these headings, but they soon found the task impracticable, 
and omitted them altogether. Several are undoubtedly correct, but 


they add something to the contents of Scripture. Thus, Ps 127 ‘ Good 
children are His gift.’ 


Se 


174 THE BIBLE AS TRANSLATED 


to Ac 6 describes the ‘seven men’ of the history as deacons. 
The heading to Gen to tells us that Nimrod was the first 
monarch. Those to Ps 2 Dt 18 Is 22 define the following 
text as Messianic, and that to Rev 22 extends the warning 
which guards the apocalyptic vision to the whole of Scripture. 

. The Titles of the Psalms are from the Hebrew: they are 
considered in the Inrropucrion to the Psalter, Part II. 
The subscriptions to the Epistles in the New Testament are 
from the Greek of late MSS., and were introduced by Eutha- 
lius (see § 42), in many cases erroneously (1 Cor Gali and 
2Th). In the R. V. they have no place. 

Chapters, Verses, and Paragraphs.—The division of 
the Scriptures into chapters and verses, and the order of the 
several books, are not of Divine origin, nor are they of great 
antiquity. The Vulgate was the first version divided into 
chapters: a work undertaken by Cardinal Hugo, in the 
thirteenth century, or as others think, by Langton, Arch-. 
bishop of Canterbury, 1227. 

The Hebrew Scriptures were similarly divided by Mor- 
decai Nathan, in 1445, and in 1661 Athias added in his 
printed text the division into verses. The New Testament 
was divided in the same way by Robert Stephens, who is 
said to have completed it in the year 1551, during a journey 
(inter equitandum) from Paris to Lyons. He placed the 
verse-numbers in the margin; the paragraphs were first 
broken up, as in the present method, by the editors of 
the Geneva version. 

These divisions are very imperfect: and eyen when not 
inaccurate, they tend to break the sense and to obscure the 
meaning. 


The subject of 2 Ki 7 begins at the 24th verse of ch. 6 The 
description of the humiliation and glory of the Servant of Jehovah 
begins at Is 52'°: and the previous verses of ch. 52 belong to ch. 51. 
The sixth verse of Jer 3 begins a distinct prophecy, which is continued 
to the end of ch. 6. 

The first verse of Col 4 belongs to ch. 3. Connect in the same way, 


PARAGRAPHS: CHAPTERS: VERSES = 175 


Gen 13-8 with ch. 1; Ro 15)-% with ch. 14; 1 Cor 11! with ch. ro. 
Mt 9 from verse 35 belongs to the tenth chapter. Jn 8! belongs to the 
seventh ; and the last two verses of Ac 4 belong to ch. 5. 

Asa rule, no importance is to be attached to the division of verses 
or of chapters, unless it coincide with the natural pauses of the 
narrative. Hence the value of the paragraph arrangement, now 
common in editions of the A. V., and universal in those of the R.V. 

The A. V. has the elements of the paragraph-division, indicated by 
the sign 4], which, for some reason, is abruptly discontinued at Ac 20*°. 

Modern Jews use the present division of chapter and verse. But 
ancient MSS. were differently divided. The Law had fifty-four greater 
divisions, called Parashioth, and the Prophets had similar divisions 
called Haphtaroth, or ‘ Dismissions,’ being read shortly before the close 
of the service. One of each of these divisions was read on the Sabbath. 
The Parashioth of the Law were subdivided into Parhuchoth (‘open’) 
where there is an obvious break in the sense, and Sathwmoth (‘ shut’) 
where the sense runs on. Of these, there are in the Pentateuch 
alone 669. They are marked » and p respectively. 

When Jews referred to the Old Testament, it was their custom to 
mention the subject of the paragraph, as it still is among the Arabs, 
in quoting from the Koran. 

‘In Elijah,’ Ro 11? (margin), refers to t Ki 17-19. ‘The bow’ in 
2 Sa 1* refers to the poem so called, in the Book of Jasher. So per- 
haps ‘ in the bush,’ Mk 127°, to Ex 3; R.V. ‘in the place concerning the 
Bush.’ 


These corrections and explanations have been given at 
considerable length, for several reasons. They furnish 
answers to objections which have been brought against 
sacred Scripture. They remove difficulties and reconcile 
apparent contradictions. They are of value, moreover, 
because they illustrate very fully the nature of the dif- 
ferences which exist between the English version and the 
original text. It is obvious that very many of these 
differences may be rectified by a comparison of parallel 
passages, so that the English reader has in his own hands 
the means, to a large extent, of correcting them. Nor do 
they disturb the conclusion to which the most competent 
authorities have long come, and which the Revised Version 
makes more than ever manifest, that the English Bible is 
on the whole identical with the Bible of the early Church, 


CHAPTER VIII 


ON THE INTERPRETATION OF 
SCRIPTURE 


‘Man can weary himself in any secular affair, but diligently to 
search the Scriptures is to him tedious and burdensome. Few covet 
to be mighty in the Scriptures ; though convinced their great concern 
is enveloped in them.’—Locke, Commonplace Book, Preface. 

‘Strict grammatical analysis, and the rigid observance of exegetical 
rules, lead to the same views of truth as are entertained by theologians, 
who bring to the study of the Bible strong sense and deyout piety,’— 
THOLUCK. 

‘The various controversies among interpreters have commonly led 
to the admission that the old Protestant views of the meaning of the 
sacred text are the correct views.’— WINER. 

‘He that shall be content to use these means, and will lay aside 
the prejudices ... which many bring with them to every question, 
will be honoured to gain an understanding of Scripture ; if not in ‘all 
things, yet in most ; if not immediately, yet ultimately..—Wurraker, 
Disput. of Scrip., p. 473- 

‘He who has not believed will not experience ; and he who has not 
experienced cannot know. —ANsELM. 

‘The most illiterate Christian, if he can but read his English Bible, 
and will take the pains to read it in this manner, will not only attain 
all that practical knowledge which is essential to salvation, but, by 
God’s blessing, he will become learned in everything relating to his 
religion in such a degree that he will not be liable to be misled, either 
bythe refuted arguments, or the false assertions of those who endea- 
your to engraft their own opinions upon the oracles of God. ’—Horstey. 

‘Pectus est quod facit theologum.’—NeanDER’s motto, 


Preliminary Considerations 


120. Importance of the study.—The importance of 
carefully studying the Bible with every accessible help may 


PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 177 


be abundantly gathered from the statements in the two 
preceding chapters as to its Divine origin and purpose. 
The greatness, as well as the difficulty, of the task is en- 
hanced by the circumstances connected with the preparation 
of the sacred books. Their authorship was various; the 
dates of their respective composition extend over many 
centuries. They were written in different places, Arabia, 
Judza, Babylonia, and in the midst of Western civilization ; 
the allusions, and figures, and expressions being taken from 
customs, scenery, and habits altogether diverse from one 
another, and from those of modern Europe. 

Their matter is as various as their authorship; laws and 
histories, psalms, proverbs, prophetic poetry, biography 
and epistles. Whole books, and parts of books, refer to 
the heathen, as in Isaiah and Nahum; while parts are 
addressed to the Jews only: one Gospel was intended for 
Hebrew converts, and another for Gentiles. The Epistles 
vary in tone and style according to the persons to whom’ 
they were addressed, and the condition of the churches at the 
period of their composition. Of all these things the reader 
must know something before being in a position to interpret 
the writings. And as the relations of the Chosen People 
with the surrounding nations were manifold and ever- 
changing, the histories of these nations throw important 
and even necessary light upon the sacred records. 

The importance of a careful study of Scripture will appear 
when we further consider the difficulty of communicating 
to men, and in human language, any ideas of religious or 
spiritual truth. We eriter new regions of thought, and 
become familiar with conceptions which tax all the resources 
of human speech. Hence the largely figurative character of 
much that Scripture contains, as will be shown at length 
in another section. For the present, the fact is mentioned 
to show the necessity of mental and spiritual preparation 
for the effective study of the Word of God. 

N 


ae 
178 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE : 


121. Mental and spiritual prerequisites.—The first 
prerequisite for this study is unquestionably the exercise of 
a humble and devout mind. It becomes us to cherish the 
habit of earnest and reverential attention to all that Scripture 
reveals, and to seek that inward teaching of the Holy Spirit 
which God has promised to them that ask Him. This 
disposition is essential to the application of all rules of 
interpretation. An analogous truth is admitted in relation 
to every other subject of inquiry. To understand true 
poetry there must be a poetic taste. The study of philo- 
sophy requires a philosophic spirit. An inquirer into the 
processes of nature needs to be imbued with the temper 
of the inductive system which Bacon taught: to sink pre- 
judice, and inquire humbly at Nature’sshrine, This principle, 
then, cannot be questioned when applied to the study of the 
Bible. There must be the alert intellect ; there must be 
also ‘the heart that watches and receives.’ 

Men need Divine teaching, not because of the peculiar 
difficulty of Scripture language, nor because of the incompre- 
hensibility of Scripture doctrine—for the things most 
misunderstood are the things which are revealed most 
clearly—but because, without that teaching, men will not 
learn, nor can they know those truths which are revealed 
only to those who feel them. When Christ appeared, the 
light shone in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended 
it not. Unholy affection had surrounded the mental eye 
with the very opposite of clear ‘dry light,’ and had impaired 
the organ itself. Blindness of heart produced ignorance ; 
and alienation ‘from the life of God’ was at once the cause 
and the aggravated effect of an ‘understanding darkened,’ 
Eph 438. The source of this teaching is clearly revealed : 
Christians are ‘all taught of the Lord’; and He Who gave 
to the Church as of old ‘the spirit of wisdom and reyela- 
tion,’ was ‘the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 
of glory,’ Eph 1”, 


PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 179 


The means of securing this teaching is equally revealed. 
‘The meek will He guide in judgement, the meek will He 
teach His way.’ He that willeth to do His will ‘shall 
know of the teaching, whether it be of God, Jn 7!". ‘If 
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God... and it shall 
be given him.’ A child-like docility, an obedient heart, 
a dependent and prayerful temper, are evidently essential 
to the successful study of Divine truth. Bene orasse est bene 
studuisse *. 

It is necessary to complete this truth by adding that the 
Spirit of God does not communicate to the mind of even 
a teachable, obedient, and devout Christian, any doctrine 
or meaning of Scripture which is not contained already 
in Scripture itself. He makes men wise up to what is 
written, but not beyond it. When Christ opened the 
understanding of His Apostles, it was ‘that they might 
understand the Scriptures,’ Lu 24*. The psalmist prayed 
that God would be pleased to open his eyes, that he might 
behold wondrous things owt of the Divine law, Ps 119‘. 
‘The Bible, and through the Bible,’ indicates, therefore, at 
once, the subject and the method of Divine wisdom. ‘To 
the law and to the testimony!’ exclaims the prophet ; ‘if 
they speak not according to this word, surely there is no 
morning for them,’ Is 87° R. V. 

This first principle of Bible interpretation is taken from 
the Bible itself. It occupies the same place, too, in the 
teaching of our Lord, who, in His first recorded discourse, 
assured Nicodemus that ‘except a man be born again, he 
cannot see ’—can neither understand the nature nor share 
uhe blessedness of—‘ the kingdom of God,’ Jn 3°. 

Compare also 1 Cor 2 12° 174 1 Jn 2727 2 Cor 42-8 t Pet 2! Jas 12 
Ps 25%5 1198 2 Tim 3%, &e. 


* «To pray well is to study well.’ 


N 2 


or 
180 . THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Rules of Interpretation 


Subsidiary to this all-important attitude of reverent 
approach to the Bible, there may be formulated certain 
Rules of Interpretation. These are not peculiar to Scripture, 
but simply bespeak in regard to it those qualities of candour 
and intelligent common sense which the study of any 
literature requires. 


122. The first rule of Biblical Interpretation is : Interpret 
grammatically ; with due regard to the meaning of words, 
the form of sentences, and the peculiarities of idiom in the 
language employed. 

The sense of Scripture is to be determined by the words; 
a true knowledge of the words is the knowledge of the sense, 
The meaning of words is fixed by the usage of language. 
Usage must be ascertained whenever possible from Seripture 
itself. The words of Scripture must be taken in their 
common meaning, unless such meaning is shown to be 
inconsistent with other words in the sentence, with the 
argument or context, or with other parts of Seripture. Of 
two meanings, that one is generally to be preferred which 
was most obvious to the comprehension of the hearers or 
original readers of the inspired passage, allowing for the 
modes of thought prevalent in their own day, as well as for 
those figurative expressions which were so familiar as to be 
no exception to the general rule. 

The true meaning of any passage of Scripture, then, is 
not every sense which the words will bear, nor is it every 
sense which is true in itself, but that which is intended by 
the inspired writers, or even by the Holy Spirit, though 
imperfectly understood by the writers themselves. These 
important points will be fully illustrated in the following 


pages. 


RULE I. LANGUAGE: IDIOMS 181 


123. Peculiarities of Idiom: Hebrew.—Several phrases, 
and turns of expression, characteristic of the original languages 
of Scripture and reproduced in translations, must be noticed. 
Especially in the Old Testament, the English version often 
employs the idioms and expressions of the original tongue ; 
these are to be understood, therefore, not according to the 
English, but according to the Hebrew idiom. 

I. The Jews, for example, frequently expressed a quali- 
fying thought by the use, not of an adjective, but of a 
second noun; a practice which may also be traced in the 
Hebrew Greek of the New Testament. 


‘Your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope,’ means 
‘your believing work, and loving labour, and hopeful patience,’ 
1 Th 1%. So, in Eph 11, the ‘ Spirit of promise’ means the ‘ promised 
Spirit.” So Mt 241° Mk 13 Ro 7%4 Jas 2t Rev 3! In some of these 
passages, however, the idiom is, perhaps, emphatic. Compare the 
remarks on ‘ hendiadys,’ Ch. VII, § 115, 2. 


2. It was a common idiom of the Hebrew to call a person 
having a peculiar quality, or subject to a peculiar evil, the 
child or son of that quality. 


In 1 Sa 2! Eli’s sons are called ‘sons of Belial,’ that is, of worth- 
lessness, ‘ Belial’ not being, in the Old Testament, as sometimes 
supposed, the name of an idol or demon, but of an abstract quality. 
In Lu ro® a ‘son of peace’ means a person of gentle and attentive 
mind, disposed to give the gospel a willing reception. In Eph 5% 
‘children of disobedience ’ and ‘children of light ’ mean, respectively, 
disobedient and enlightened persons. In Eph 2° ‘children of wrath’ 
refers to a disposition which involves exposure to the Divine anger 
against sin. 


3. Comparison, again, is very peculiarly expressed in 
Hebrew. , 


To love and to hate, for example, is a Hebrew expression for pre- 
ferring one thing to another. Thus it is said in Lu 1426, ‘If any man 
come to Me, and hate not his father’: for which we find, as in Mt 10%”, 
‘He that loveth father more than Me.’ The same expression is used 
in Jn 12%, in Ro 9! from Mal 1°, in Gen 29*!, and in Dt 21}, 





ie 
ee jd 
182. THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Comparison is sometimes intimated by the use of adverbs 
of negation. 


Thus in Gen 45%, ‘not you sent me hither, but God’: it was God 
rathor than you. So Ex 16° 1 Sa 87 Pr 8! Ho 6° (Mt 9% and 12”) Jer 
7°28, So in Mk 9°’, ‘ Whosoever shall receive Me receiveth not Me, 
but Him that sent Me’; not so much, or, not only Me, but Him. to 
in Lu 1079 14° Jn 572-4? 627 Ac 54 1 Cor 17 Eph 6" 1 Th 4*. Caution, 
however, must be used, lest this idiom be pressed where it does not 
apply, to the weakening of the sense. 


4. Plural nouns are sometimes used in Hebrew to imply 
that there are more than one, though it may be to one only 
that reference is made. 


Gen 8! 19” Judg 127 Ne 3% So in N.T., Mt 241, where ‘ disciples’ 
means one of them (Mk 13') Mt 26° (Jn 12‘) Mt 27 and Mk 15% 
(Lu 23%) Lu 23% (Mt 274%). In some of these instances, however, 
all or several shared in the sentiment. In Jn 13, for ‘ garments,’ 
read ‘one of them,’ the upper, see Mk 527-5°, 


5. The names of parents, or ancestors, are often used in 
Scripture for their posterity. 


Thus in Gen 9° it is said, ‘Cursed be Canaan,’ i.e. his posterity. 
(This curse, it will be remembered, did not affect those of his posterity 
who were righteous; for both Melchisedec and Abimelech were 
Canaanites, as was the woman who came to Christ, and whose 
daughter was healed, Gen 14'*-*° 20° Mt 15*7-*8.) In the same way, 
Jacob and Israel are often put for the Israelites, as in Gen 497 Ps 147 
24° 1 Ki 18!7-16, 


6. The word ‘son’ is sometimes used, by a Hebraism 
(common, indeed, to nearly all languages), in general for 
a descendant. 


The priests are called the sons of Levi. Mephibosheth is called the 
son of Saul, though he was the son of Jonathan, 2 Sa 197! : so Gen 46”. 
Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo (Zee 14), is called his son, Ezr 5". In 
like manner, ‘father’ is used for any ancestor, 1 Ch 117. See Dn 5". 
Belshazzar was probably the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, 

‘ Brother’ is used in the same way for any collateral relation. It is 
thus applied by Abraham to Lot, who was his nephew’. In one 
instance, too, the descendants of a man who married a daughter of 


® Gen 1416 291215, 





RULE I. LANGUAGE: IDIOMS 183 


Barzillai are called, from the name of their maternal ancestor's 
father, the children of Barzillai*, In the same way, Jair is called the 
son of Manasseh, because his grandfather had married the daughter of 
one of the heads of Manasseh. Mary is also thought by some to have 
descended from David in this way ; so that our Lord was David’s son, 
not only through His reputed father, but by direct descent through His 
mother >, r 

A knowledge of the last-mentioned usage will sometimes correct 
apparent contradictions. Athaliah, for example, is called in 2 Ki 8°° 
the daughter of Omri, and in verse 18 ske is called the daughter of 
Ahab. She was really Ahab’s daughter, and Omri’s grand-daughter. 
See also 1 Ki 15!° 2 Ch 13? and 1 Ch 3, compared with 2 Ch 36°)’. 


Semi-Hebraisms.— Among Hebraisms of another kind 
(sometimes called semi-Hebraisms), the following may be 
noticed :— 

1. Some numeral expressions in frequent use denote 
indefinite numbers. 


‘Ten’ means ‘several,’ as well as that precise number, Gen 317 
10¥ay sew 

‘Forty’ means ‘many.’ Persepolis is called in Eastern language 
‘the city of forty towers,’ though the number was much larger. This 
is probably the meaning in 2 Ki 8°, where Hazael is said to have 
brought as a present to Elisha forty camels’ burden of the good things 
of Damaseus. See also Eze 29''!8; and, perhaps, some chronological 
notes in the histories. 

‘Seven’ and ‘seventy’ often express a large and complete, though 
an uncertain number, Pr 26? Ps 119!6* Ley 2674, &&. We are com- 
manded to forgive till ‘seventy times seven,’ to indicate that, if our 
brother repent of his sin, there must be no end of our forgiveness. 
The ‘seven demons’ cast out of Mary of Magdala indicate extreme 
suffering, though not necessarily great wickedness. 


2. The Scriptures sometimes use a round number, rather 
than a more exact specification. 
From comparing Num 25° and 1 Cor 10°, we learn that between 


23,0co and 24,000 were slain by the plague. The first passage mentions 
24,000, the second 23,000, Nee Judg 1176 20%-40, 


® Ezr 2° Ne 7%, 
> For an argument that the genealogy in Lu 3 is that of Mary, see 
Godet, Si. Luke, i. pp. 195-204. 


184 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


3. Occasionally, verbs denoting being or action are used, 
when the declaration only is intended that the thing is so, 
or is so done. 


In Lev 13, for example, where the priest is said (Hebrew) to ‘make 
the leper unclean’ or to ‘make clean,’ or to pronounce such to be the 
state. Again, ‘the letter killeth,’ 2 Cor 3°, that is, declares death as 
a consequence of sin, Ro 4 5°° 7°. So in prophecy, the speaker is 
said to do what he only foretells, Jer 1'° Eze 43° Is 6". 


124. Proper Names: persons.—In interpreting the 
words of Scripture, the usage of proper names needs care- 
fully to be noticed. 

Different persons have often the same name. 


Pharaoh (or ruler) was the general name of the kings of Egypt from 
the time of Abraham till the invasion of Egypt by the Persians, as 
Ptolemy was the common name of their kings after the death of 
Alexander. Abimelech (meaning ‘my father the king’) seems to have 
been the common name of the kings of the Philistines ; Agag was the 
name of the kings of the Amalekites, as was Benhadad of the kings of 
Damascus. Among the Romans, Augustus Cesar was the common title 
of their emperors. The Cesar mentioned in Lu 2! was the second 
of that name. The Cesar who reigned when Christ was crucified was 
Tiberius. The emperor to whom Paul appealed, and who is called 
both Augustus and Cesar, was Nero, Ac 25%. The Egyptian and the 
Philistine kings seem to have had, like the Romans, a proper as well 
as a common name. We read, for example, of Pharaoh Neco and of 
Pharaoh Hophra ; and the Abimelech mentioned in the title of Ps 34 
is called Achish in 1 Sa a1, 

In the New Testament several very different persons bore the name 
of Herod, as shown in Part II of the present work, Ch. XVII, § 419: 
Genealogical Table of the Herods. 


Or, different names are given to the same person. 


Abiel, 1 Sag', is Ner, 1 Ch 9°°; Ishvi, 1 Sa 14**, is Abinadab, 31° 
and 1 Ch 9°; Maacah, 1 Ki 15? 2 Ch 11%, is Micaiah, 2 Ch 137; 
Daniel, 1 Ch 3°, is Chileab, 2 Sa 3% See also Hobab and Jethro, 
Judg 44 Ex 3!; Levi and Matthew ; Thomas and Didymus (meaning 
twin in Hebrew and Greek respectively) ; Thaddeus, Lebbaeus, and 
Judas; Silvanus and Silas. (In the original, Ex 2 Num 10’, Reuel 
and Raguel are alike. So, in New Testament, Lucas and Luke, 
Timotheus and Timothy. See R. V.) 


RULE I. LANGUAGE: PROPER NAMES 185 


Proper Names: places.—So, again, with the names of 
places. Different places often have the same name. 


Ceesarea is the name of two cities; one called Czesarea Philippi, in 
Galilee ; the other on the shore of the Mediterranean. The one meh- 
tioned throughout the Acts of the Apostles was the port whence 
travellers generally left Judzea for Rome. 

Antioch, in Syria, again, is the place where Paul and Barnabas 
commenced their labours, and where the followers of Christ were 
first called Christians, Ac 117°", The Antioch ‘of Pisidia,’ Ae 13"4 
and 2 Tim 34, is in Phrygia. 

There is a Mizpeh (‘ watch-tower’) in Mount Gilead, where Jephthah 
resided, where Jacob and Laban made their covenant, Gen 31*° Judg 11°*; 
a Mizpeh of Moab, 1 Sa 22%, perhaps the same as the previous ; 
a Mizpeh of Gibeah, where Samuel resided, and where Saul was 
chosen king, 1 Sa7; and there is also a Mizpeh in the tribe of Judah, 
Jos 15°%. ‘Mizpah’ is the same name, interchangeably used with the 
above. 


Different names are given to the same places. 


In Gen 31* Laban calls the heap of stones Jegar-sahadutha in 
Aramaic ; Jacob names it Galeed in Hebrew. Hermon, Dt 3’, is said 
to be called Sirion by the Sidonians, Shenir by the Amorites ; in Dt 
4% it is called Sion; while in Ct 48(1 Ch 5°°) Shenir and Hermon refer 
to different peaks of the same mountain range. Poetically, Egypt is 
called Ham, Ps 78°!, the land of Ham, Ps 105°, and Rahab, Pss 874 89!” 
Is 51°; Jerusalem is Ariel, Is 29', Babylon is Sheshach, Jer25"6, This 
last word is a eryptogram, the three letters BBL (for Babel) being 
written in corresponding letters counted backwards from the end of 
the alphabet (Sh, Sh, Ch). 

Horeb and Sinai are names now and anciently applied to different 
peaks of the same range of mountains ; and both names are sometimes 
applied to the whole range. 

Laish or Leshem, Josh 19’ Judg 18”, afterwards Dan, 1 Ki 12”, 
near the Galilean Czsarea, by some identified with it. 

The Lake of Gennesareth was anciently called the Sea of Chinnereth 
(Cinnereth, Cinneroth), afterwards the Sea of Galilee, or the Sea of 
Tiberias, Mt 418 Jn 211. 

The modern Abyssinia is called Ethiopia (Heb. Cush); the word 
Cush, however, has occasionally a wider meaning, being applied to 
Asiatic regions, Gen 21° Jer 46’ Eze 38°. Greece is in Hebrew Javan, 
Is 66'® Zee 9 Dn 11°. 

The Dead Sea (a name which does not occur in Scripture) is called 
the Sea of the Plain (Arabah, 2 Ki 14?°); the East Sea, from its position 


186 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRI 


in relation to Jerusalem, Eze 47" Zee 14° ; and sometimes the Salt Sea, 
Gen 145 Num 34*!". See § 172. 

The Nile is called in Scripture Sihor, Jos 13°, but more commonly 
the River; both names, however, being applied also to other streams, 
the latter, especially, to the Euphrates. 

The Mediterranean Sea is called the Sea of the Philistines, who 
resided on its coasts (Ex 23°') ; or the Utmost or Hinder, i.e. Western 
Sea, Dt 11*4 34” Joel 2°°; or, more commonly, the Great Sea, Ex 23” 
Dt 11° Num 347, &e. 

The Holy Land is called Canaan ; the Land of Israel, of Judaa ; 
Palestine, or the Land of the Immigrants ; and the Land of Promise, 
Ex 15/4 x Sa 13” Is 1479 Heb 11°. 


Sometimes the same name is applied to a person and to 
a place. 


Magog, for example, is the name of a son of Japheth, and it is also 
the name of the country oecupied by a people called Gog, probably the 
Scythians, or, as they are now called, the Tartars, Eze 38 Rev. 20%. 
The Turks have sprung from the same stock. 


The names both of persons and places are sometimes 
spelled differently in the original. (Where the difference 
is only in the English version, it has been already noted.) 


Dodanim Gen 10', Rodanim 1 Ch 17. In Hebrew the letters 1 and 
> (d and r) are so nearly alike that one may easily be mistaken in 
transcription for the other; see also Gen 1o* and 1t Ch 1® Num 1'* 
and 2"). In 1 Sa 12" Bedan is for the same reason explained as 
a copyist’s error for Barak. Peniel in Gen 32” is Penuel in the next 
verse. Job in Gen 46" is Jashub in Num 26%. Jether in Ex 4" is 
Jethro in 3'. Hoshea in Dt 324 is Joshua in 34°. Nebuchadnezzar 
in Daniel is with greater correctness Nebuchadrezzar in Ezekiel and 
generally in Jeremiah. Uzziah is also called Azariah, 2 Ki 15%, 
&e. Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, is called Azariah and Jehoahaz. 
2 Ki 8°° 2 Ch 22° ar”, Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, is called Johanan 
and Shallum, 2 Ki 238° 1 Ch 3 Jer 22"'. Nathanael, mentioned in 
the Gospel of John, is probably the same with the Bartholomew (son 
of Tolmai) of the other Evangelists. 

Attention to these instances will enable the student of Scripture to 
explain many seeming discrepancies, 


125. The meaning of a word, again, will often be modified 
by the connexion in which it is used. We need, therefore, 






RULE II. CONTEXT 187 


a second rule of interpretation: Interpret according to 
the context. This rule is often of great theological im- 
portance. 


Fairu, for example, sometimes means the gospel (of which faith in 
Christ is the great requirement), as in Gal 1°°, ‘ he now preacheth the 
faith which once he destroyed.’ So in 1 Tim 3° 4! Ac 24*4. It 
means, again, truth or faithfulness, as in Ro 3°, ‘shall their unbelief 
make the faith (R.V. faithfulness) of God without effect?’ So in 
Tit 2, and probably in Gal 5%. It means, further, in one passage, 
proof or evidence, Ac 17°41 (Gr.). It means a conscientious conviction 
of duty, as in Ro 147°; or, most comprehensively, that exercise of 
the mind and heart which receives spiritual and Divine truth (Heb 
111); or, more specifically, the repose of the mind and heart in the 
work of Christ as the ground of pardon and means of holiness 
(Ro 378). 

FLESH means sometimes what is tender and teachable, as in 
Eze 111%, ‘I will give you a heart of flesh’; where it is opposed to 
a heart of stone. It means, also, human nature, without any reference 
to its sinfulness, Jn 114 Ro 13 9°; but more commonly, human nature 
as corrupt and sinful, Ro 8° Eph 2°. Another meaning is, all that is 
outward and ceremonial in religion, as distinguished from what is 
inward and spiritual, as in Gal 6!” 3°, where it refers more especially 
to the ceremonies of the Mosaic ritual (compare Phil 3°). 

SALVATION means in some places outward safety and deliverance, as 
in Ex 14 Ac 7 (orig.), or healing, as in Jas 5)°, where, in the 
ease of a sick Christian, the prayer of faith is said to save, i. e. heal, 
the sick. Its more common meaning, however, is in reference to 
spiritual blessing, when it sometimes includes the present and 
immediate deliverance, as in Eph 2° Lu 17"; or, more frequently, 
the whole of the blessing which Christ has secured for believers, 
beginning with forgiveness, and ending in eternal glory, Ro 131. 
Sometimes it means simply the gospel, as in Heb 2°, where it is said 
to be ‘spoken by the Lord, and confirmed unto us by them that heard 
Him.’ ; 

In the same way, BLoop is used in Scripture with several meanings : 
God ‘hath made of one blood all nations of men,’ Ac 17”, i. e. they 
have a common origin or nature. In Mt 27° ‘His blood be on us, 
and on our children,’ means, ‘The guilt of having put Him to death 
be upon us.’ In Ro 5° the Christian is said to be justified by the 
blood of Christ; in Heb 9 the blood of Christ is said to ‘ purge 
our conscience from dead works’; and in rt Jn 17 it is declared to 
have a cleansing influence upon the heart and life. The robes of the 


; a af 
. 


- Ts) 
188 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


redeemed are made white in the blood of the Lamb. In these pas- 
sages, the blood of Christ means His ‘obedience unto death,’ ‘the 
offering of Himself’ on the cross, the ground of justification, the 
instrument and motive of holiness. 

The general meaning of the word crace is ‘favour.’ As applied to 
God, it means the unmerited favour exercised by Him towards men, 
as in 2 Tim 1°, ‘ According to His own purpose and grace.’ It means, 
moreover, all the different gifts of that grace: justification, as in 
Ro 5!5; strength and holiness, as in 2 Cor 12°, ‘ My grace is sufficient 
for thee’; and eternal glory, 1 Pet 1%. The ‘word of His grace’ is 
the gospel, in Ac 14°. So in Heb 1°, it means doctrines of the gospel, 
and not meats or rites. 


126. Contextual explanations.—1. Such special mean- 
ings are often explained by definitions or by examples ; 
occasionally again by expressions which limit the meaning. 


In Heb 11’, for instance, Farru is first described, and then illustrated. 
It is said to be a confident expectation of things hoped for: a perfect 
persuasion of things not seen: and then examples are given of both 
parts of the definition. In Noah it was perfect persuasion of the 
truth of God in regard to the Deluge. In Abraham it was confident 
expectation of the fulfilment of the promise made to himself, and to 
his seed. If the Divine word speak of mercies, faith hopes for them ; 
if of things purely spiritual and future, faith believes in them. 

Perhaps no passage illustrates better than this the difficulty of 
making a good translation, and the wisdom of God in giving us 
a Bible of examples, rather than of definitions. The word ‘substance’ 
(A. V.) is a literal translation of the original; and means, whatever 
stands under and sustains all that is attached to it, whether subjects 
or qualities. No one word could haye more completely expressed the 
idea of the original: and yet it is not clear. In Heb 1° the same 
word is translated ‘substance’ (R. V.), and in 2 Cor 9* 1117 Heb 3* 
‘confidence.’ The full idea is that of underlying support. Faith is 
therefore, as to things hoped for, a thing on which real or substantial 
confidence may rest, an ‘assurance’ (R.V.). It is, moreover, ‘the 
evidence of things not seen.’ The full idea here, again, is such 
evidence of things not seen as silences doubt and refutes opposition ; 
or rather, it is the conviction which such evidence produces. All 
this extent of meaning is found in the original word: but no one word 
can express it. The R. V. gives ‘proving,’ and in the margin ‘test.’ 
If the Bible were made up of definitions, a translation without a para- 
phrase would be impossible. We may well feel thankful, therefore, 
that it is a book of examples chiefly: and that it illustrates its 





RULE II. CONTEXT 189 


principles rather in the lives of believers, than in logical and abstruse 
terms. 

PERFEcTION, again, is defined in several parts of the Bible. In 
Ps 37°" it is used as synonymous with uprightness or sincerity, a real 
unfeigned goodness: and this is its general meaning in the Old 
Testament, 1 Ch 12°58, In the New Testament it means either the 
possession of clear and accurate knowledge of Divine truth, or the 
possession of all the graces of the Christian. character, in a higher or 
lower degree. The first is the meaning in Heb 5'*: where strong 
meat is said to belong ‘to them that are of full age (R. V. ‘full grown,’ 
margin A. and R. V. ‘ perfect’): even to those who by reason of use 
have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.’ So in 
1 Cor 2° Phil 3°. The second is the meaning in Jas 14, where ‘ perfect’ 
is defined as ‘entire, tvanting nothing.’ In 2 Pet 1° the graces 
which make up the perfect Christian are enumerated. 

In Eph 3*° Mystery is defined by example, as the truth that the 
Gentiles should be partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel. 
The word denotes ‘a secret’ in general ; as a hidden meaning (Eph 5°”), 
a truth beyond human understanding (1 Cor 15°), a truth hidden for 
a time, but now revealed, as the calling of the Gentiles; more 
generally, a doctrine, good or evil, into which persons are initiated 
(1 Cor 4! 2 Th 2’). 

THE COURSE OF THIS WORLD, Eph. 2?, means man’s natural state and 
life, as opposed to the kingdom of Christ: it is the outgoing of the 
spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience. 

In Gal 45 the expression, the ELEMENTS, Or RUDIMENTS, OF THIS WORLD 

_is used; and is explained in verses 9g, 10, of the same chapter. See 
also ‘ world’ in Heb 2° 6° (‘ age’ R. V.) 1 Cor 104 (‘ages’ R. V.). 

WokLD in its various meanings should be carefully discriminated. 

‘God so loved the world’: ‘Love not the world, &e. 


Explanation by Analogy or Antithesis.—2. Sometimes, 
where there is no formal definition, the meaning is made 
clear by the use of some analogous or similar expression ; 
or by antithesis. 


In Gal 3%" the ‘covenant with Abraham’ is explained as the 
promise which God made to him. 

In Ro 67° the meaning of the word death (the wages of sin) is 
gathered from the opposite: ‘the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus 
Christ our Lord’ (R. V.). 

In Col 27 the expression, ‘rooted and built up in Christ,’ is ex- 
plained as meaning ‘stablished in the faith.’ 

In Ro 4? it is said, that ‘to him that worketh not, faith is counted 






199 THE INTERPRETATION OF S 


for righteousness’: the expression ‘ worketh’ being explained in 
several places in the same chapter. In verse 2 the phrase is ‘justified 
by works.’ From the same verse, we learn that it means the contrary 
of ‘believing on Him that justifieth the ungodly’ (verse 5). So in 
Jas 2 the faith that cannot save is the faith that spends itself in 
words, and not in deeds. It isa faith that is without obedience: it 
is a faith such as devils feel (verse 19), and it is not such as Abraham 
felt (verse 23). To be ‘justified by works,’ therefore, expressly 
includes, in Paul, the rejection of Christ as the Saviour of the guilty, 
and an adherence to the old covenant; while the ‘ works’ of which 
James speaks imply faith in Christ. The same truth is taught by our 
Lord in John 35°, where it is said, ‘He that believeth on the Son 
hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see 
life’: where the word ‘believeth not’ is, in the original, ‘is not 
obedient to’ or will not believe (see R. V.): showing that the sin is 
not unbelief but disbelief; and that the faith to which the promise 
is annexed, is a principle of unreserved obedience. 


Parallelism a guide to meaning.—3. Much light is 
frequently cast upon words and phrases by the parallelisms 
of Scripture, in which one part of a sentence answers more 
or less closely to another. 


This branch of the subject is treated in Part II, ‘On the Struc- 
ture of Hebrew Poetry.’ 


127. Very often the meaning is decided by the general 
reasoning, or allusions of the context. 

1. These sometimes prove that the words are to be taken 
in a limited sense. 


In Ps 78, for example, David prays, ‘Judge me, O Lord, according 
to my righteousness’; i.e. according to his innocency, in reference to 
the charge of ‘Cush the Benjamite.’ He often uses the same ex- 
pression with similar limitations. The word ‘righteous’ or ‘more 
righteous’ is even applied to wicked men: as in 1 Ki 2°’, and in 
2Sa4. In the second instance, Ishbosheth is said to be righteous, 
merely to imply that he had done no injury to his murderers. The 
same phrase is applied to Sodom and Gomorrah, because they were 
less guilty than Jerusalem, Eze 165%. The counsel of Ahithophel is 
called good, and the conduct of the unjust steward wise, not because 
absolutely so, but as being likely means of accomplishing the ends 
proposed. 

In Jn 9° it is said, ‘Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents.’ 


RULE II. CONTEXT 191 


The meaning is simply, that his blindness was not the punishment of 
any particular sin. 

In Jas 54 the elders of the Church are commanded to anoint the 
sick, and to pray over him; ‘and the prayer of faith shall save him.’ 
The Church of Rome founds on this one passage the doctrine of 
extreme unction, which is held to save the soul of the dying. But 
from verses 15, 16, it is plain that by ‘save’ is meant ‘heal.’ So 
that, whatever this practice implied, it was to be observed, not with 
the view of saving the soul, but, in the case of one already a Christian, 
with the view of restoring his health. 

2. The context, or general arrangement of a passage, May 
even require that words be understood in the very opposite 
of their natural sense. 

In 1 Ki 225, ‘Go, and prosper’ was spoken ironically, and meant 
the reverse. In Num 227°, ‘Rise up, and go’ appears from verses 
12, 32, to imply, ‘If, after all I have told you, your heart is set on 
violating My command, do it at your own risk.’ The use of this form 
of speech may be seen in 1 Ki 18°’ Judg ro Mk 7° 1 Cor 48. 

3. Parentheses and particles.—The general reasoning 
of the various passages of Scripture is, commonly, sufficiently 
plain to indicate the meaning of the words employed. Great 
attention, however, needs to be paid to the use of paren- 
theses and of particles; the particles connecting different 
branches of a sentence, or argument, together, and the 
parentheses withdrawing from the direct line of argument 
the words which are included in them. The latter interrupt 
the grammatical construction of the sentence: the former 
perfect, or complete it. 

When the parenthesis is short, it creates no difficulty. 
and can scarcely be said to interrupt the reasoning, as in 
Ac 1! Phil 3%. When-it is long, it seems to embarrass 
the argument, and often ends in the repetition of the word 
of the preceding clause. Eph 3? to 4! (first clause) is all in 
parenthesis; so Phil 1°’—2!° and perhaps 37-!*._ In the 
first and last of these cases, the word ‘therefore’ resumes 
the interrupted argument. 

The parenthesis is often indicated in argumentative 





192 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE : 


passages by the use of the word ‘for,’ as in Ro 2! 1% 
2 Cor 6? Eph 214~18, 

The force and distinctiveness of particles may be illus- 
trated in cases like the following. 


THEN is often emphatic; sometimes as an adverb of time, as in 
Mal 348. And again in 1 Th 41’, ‘The dead in Christ shall rise first. 
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together 
with them in the clouds.” It is not said here, that the dead in 
Christ rise before the rest of the dead, but that the dead rise before 
the living are changed. But it is much oftener used as an equivalent 
for therefore; as in 2 Cor5'* (see R.V.). THererore itself generally 
expresses an inference: but it sometimes indicates that the 
sentence has been interrupted by a parenthesis, or is repeated: and 
means ‘As I before said,’ or ‘to resume,’ Mt 7° (see verse 21) 
1 Cor 8 (see verse 1) Mk 3°! (see verse 21) John 6% (see verse 22) 
Gal 35 (see verse 2). THROUGH means sometimes ‘ by means of,’ as in 
Jn 158, ‘Through the word I have spoken unto you’: and sometimes 
‘for the sake of,’ Ro 51; or ‘in the midst of, as in Ac 14*%. ‘Spoken 
by the prophet’ (A. V.) should generally be ‘through the prophet’ 
as R.V. The prophet was the instrument of the communication ; 
Mt 12? 2°§ &. Now is sometimes an adverb of time: sometimes it 
means ‘as the case is,’ contrasting an actual with a supposable one, 
Jn 18°, where ‘then’ means ‘in that case,’ and asserts the conse- 
quence; Lu 19‘ Heb 8° (verse 4). RaTHER means ‘on the contrary,” 
Ro 114 12!® Eph 5". The comparison implied in the modern use of 
the word is expressed in Scripture by ‘and not,’ In all such cases 
a knowledge of the Greek or Hebrew particle and its uses is needful 
for precise interpretation. 


4. The connexion is sometimes obscured through the use 
of a covert dialogue; objections, responses, and replies not 
being distinctly marked. 

See Ro 3, where we have a virtual dialogue between the Apostle and 
an objector. Is 52'° 53°, a dialogue between God, the prophet, and 
the Jews. See also 63'~ Hab 1. 

Psalms 15, 20, 24, 87, 104, 132, are responsive. 

128. A third rule of Interpretation, applicable where 
the words, the connexion of the sentence, and the context, 
fail in removing all ambiguity, or in giving the full meaning 
of the writer, is: Regard the scope or design of the 


RULE III. GENERAL SCOPE 193 


book itself, or of some large section, in which the words 
and expressions occur. The second rule touches this; and, 
indeed, all the rules of interpretation glide by degrees into 
one another. 

1. Sometimes the scope of a section, or of the book itself, 
is expressly mentioned. 


In Ro 3%8, for example, St. Paul tells us the conclusion to which 
his reasonings, up to that point, had brought him: namely, that 
a man is justified by faith, apart from deeds of law. 

The principal conclusions of the Epistle to the Ephesians are 
stated, the first doctrinal, in 21%, that the Gentiles were no longer 
aliens ; the second practical, in 41°, exhorting Jews and Gentiles to 
exercise the spirit and temper which become their new relation. 
Subordinate conclusions are expressed in 3! 417-7 51.7 61814: where 
the words ‘therefore’ or ‘wherefore ’ generally indicate the result of 
each successive argument. 

The design of the Proverbs is told us in 11; of the Gospel of Luke 
in Lk 11; of the Gospel of John in Jn 201; of the Old Testament itself 
ino rs* 2 Lim, 31617 


2. The design of some parts of the Bible can be gathered 
only from the occasions on which they were written. 


The ninetieth Psalm purports to have been a prayer of Moses, at 
the time when God sent back the children of Israel to wander in the 
wilderness. The scope of Psalms 3, 18, 34, 51, is illustrated by their 
inscriptions. The Psalms which are headed ‘Songs of Degrees,’ 
120-134, were written for the Jews, to be sung during their annual 
journeys to Jerusalem. Many of the verses receive valuable illustra- 
tion from this fact. 

The Epistles to the Colossians, the Ephesians, and the Galatians, 
were all written to illustrate the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, and 
to answer the misrepresentations of the Judaizing teachers of the 
Church. Many expressions will be explained by a reference to the 
Acts of the Apostles, and especially to the fifteenth chapter; where we 
have the history of the whole question which these Epistles discuss. 


3. The great means of obtaining a knowledge of the scope 
of the various books of the Bible, or of particular passages, 
is the repeated and continuous study of the books them- 
selves. When once this knowledge is gained, it will throw 

o 





194 THE INTERPRETATION OF ea 

‘ , 7 , 
great light on particular expressions, and illustrate other 
parts of the Bible in a way both instructive and surprising. 


To understand the precept of our Lord, Mt 19", ‘If thou wilt enter 
into life, keep the commandments,’ we look to the seope. An inquirer, 
proud of his own righteousness, asks what he must do to obtain 
eternal life, and our Lord refers him to the Law, to rebuke and 
humble him. 

The subjects of the predictions, Is 1-39, are generally indicated. 
The subjects of subsequent chapters are less marked, and the con- 
nexion can be traced only by repeated perusal. When traced, it 
throws light upon the meaning. Chs. 51-55, for example, form 
one prophecy; 51'~* contain an earnest thrice-repeated appeal to 
the people to ear; 51°-52'* contain an earnest appeal to God and 
to Zion; 52'°-53'* are a glorious description of the work of the 
‘Servant of Jehovah,’ pointing onward to the Messiah, and forming 
the centre of the prophecy; 54 describes the results of His work 
on the destiny of the Church, and 55 on the destiny of the world. 


4. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether the immediate 
scope of the passage, or the general scope of the book, is to 
be regarded. 


In Lu 15, for example, there are several parables addressed to the 
Pharisees, who complained that our Lord received sinners : and among 
those parables is that of the Prodigal Son. It is certain that the 
scope of the Gospel of Luke is to exhibit and recommend the gospel 
to the Gentiles: and the question arises, who is meant by the elder 
son, and who by the younger? Some say, the Pharisee and the 
sinner; others, the Jew and the Gentile. The first interpretation is 
sanctioned by the scope of the context ; and the second, by the general 
scope of the Gospel. It will be seen that both interpretations are 
consistent and probable. 

It has been doubted whether the ‘ rest’ (or the keeping of a rest or 
Sabbath) spoken of in Heb 4 refers to the literal Sabbath, to heaven, 
or to the peace which the gospel brings, ending however in eternal 
life: a question that can be best decided by taking into account the 
general argument of the Epistle. 

In the same way, if we need further light on the apparent contra- 
diction between St. Paul and St. James, we look at the scope of their 
Epistles. That to the Romans is designed to prove that by the 
performance of the duties of the Law no man is justified, because his 
obedience is imperfect. The object of the Epistle of James is to prove 
that no man can be justified bya faith which does not tend to holiness, 





RULE IV. COMPARISON OF PASSAGES 195 


If these designs be kept in view, it will be found that the apparent 
contradictions cease. The object of the first Epistle of John is defined 
in ch. 2! as similar to the object of the Epistle of James. 

The scope of the Epistle to the Romans, as compared with that of 
the Epistle to the Galatians, explains an apparent contradiction 
between these Epistles. In the one the observance of days is allowed, 
Ro 14°. In the other it is forbidden, Gal 41°, The permission is 
given to Jewish converts, who had a tender conscientious scruple about 
setting aside the precepts of the Law in which they had been trained. 
The prohibition is addressed to Gentile converts, who were being taught 
by Judaizers that. they could be saved only through the practice of 
the Jewish ritual. Their observance of days was owing to that feeling, 
and therefore condemned. 


129. The fourth and most comprehensive rule of Biblical 
interpretation is: Compare Scripture with Scripture. It 
is by the observance of this rule alone that we become sure 
of the true meaning of particular passages ; and, above all, 
it is by this rule alone that we ascertain the general teaching 
of Scripture on questions of faith and practice. A Scripture 
truth is really the consistent explanation of all that Scrip- 
ture teaches in reference to the question examined; and 
a Scripture duty is the consistent explanation of all the 
precepts of Scripture on the duty. It is in studying 
the Scripture as in studying the works of God. We first 
examine each fact or phenomenon, and _ ascertain | its 
meaning ; and then classify it with other similar facts, and 
attempt to explain the whole. Such explanation is called 
a general law. 

The importance of studying Scripture in this way is 
strikingly manifest from the mistakes of the Jews. ‘We 
have heard out of the Law’ (said they) ‘that the Christ 
abideth for ever,’ Is 9’ Dan 714, ‘and how sayest Thou, 
The Son of man must be lifted up?’ The everlasting 
duration of His kingdom was often foretold; but that He 
should be lifted up and cut off, though not for Himself, 
had been foretold too, Is 53*~12, A comparison of these 
passages would have remoyed the ground of their objections. 

02 





sae 


196 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


1. Verbal parallels.—Sometimes we compare the words 
of Scripture with one another, with the view of ascertaining 
their meaning. 


David, for example, is called in 1 Sa 134, and in Ac 137", ‘a man 
after God’s own heart’: and the question has been asked, whether 
this expression is meant to exhibit David as a model of perfection. 
On referring to 1 Sa 2°, however, it will be found that the phrase is 
again used, ‘I will raise Me up a faithful priest, who shall do aecord- 
ing to that which is in Mine heart,’ and this suggests the primary 
meaning, namely, that David, especially in his public official conduct, 
should fulfil the Divine will, and maintain inviolate the laws which 
God had enjoined. David was, indeed, an eminently devout man, yet 
it was in reference to his kingly office, primarily, that this description 
was given ; however applicable it may also have been to the general 
spirit of piety which David evinced, and to the unfeigned penitence 
which he manifested after having been convicted of sin. 

In reading Gal 3°’, we find the expression ‘As many as have been 
baptized into Christ have put on Christ’: and we turn to Ro 13%, 
and there find that to put on Christ is opposed to making provision 
for the flesh; and then again to Col 31°, where the same phrase of 
‘putting on’ the new man implies renewal in knowledge after the 
image of the Redeemer (verse 12), kindness, humbleness, meekness, 
and, above all, charity, the bond of perfectness. In Gal 6” the 
Apostle says, ‘From henceforth, let no man trouble me’ (by such 
calumnies, as if I were a friend of the ceremonial law), ‘for I bear 
in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.’ We turn to 2 Cor 4”, 
where we find a similar phrase, ‘bearing about in the body the dying 
of the Lord Jesus’; and, turning again to 2 Cor 11°5-®7, we gather 
that these marks of the Lord Jesus were simply the scars of his 
sufferings for Christ, not (as ‘some, interpreting the passage literally, 
have supposed) the marks or stigmata of the cross. 


The comparison of the words of Scripture is often essential 
to the full apprehension of Scripture truth, especially in 
reference to proper names. 


In Ps 106!%, for example, it is said, ‘They made a calf in Hones,’ i. e. 
as appears from Ex 32, in the very place where God had taken them 
into covenant, and immediately after they had pledged themselves 
to renounce all idolatry. 

In Is 29!‘ the distress of Jerusalem (Ariel) is made to appear the 
more poignant because it was ‘the city where Davin dwelt.’ 

A close attention to Scripture will show that there are at least 


RULE IV. COMPARISON OF PASSAGES — 197 


three kinds of verbal parallels. First, where the same thing is said 
in the same words, as Ex 207-!” Dt 5°! Ps 14, 53 Is 22-4 and Mic 4'-°, 
Here one passage may be used to prove the accuracy of the other, or 
the occasion or application of the passage may throw light on the 
passage itself. Is 6°1°is referred to, for example, three times in the New 
Testament, and a comparison of the occasions will illustrate the 
saying. Secondly, where the same facts are narrated in similar and 
some identical words, as in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy; 
Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles; and in the Gospels. In this case 
plain expressions illustrate difficult ones. One passage explains or 
modifies the other, as in Mt 2! and Lu 2'-*, Thirdly, where the words 
or idioms are used in different connexions, or where the phrases 
employed, though in themselves alike, are used in different senses, as 
in the following passages: Jn 171 and Mt 114, Jn 54 and 8%, Ac 9/ and 
22°, Lu 1°85 and 1 Cor 1574. 

Apparently different expressions are thus harmonized. God’s offer, 
for example, of seven years’ famine, 2 Sa 24}°, includes the three pre- 
ceding years during which that calamity had continued, 2Sa21'. In 
rt Ch 21-2 there is no reference to the preceding famine, and the 
offer is therefore of three years only. So 2 Sa 2474 1 Ch 21°, 


Rule for considering verbal parallelisms.—In com- 
paring Scripture with Scripture, therefore, ascertain, FrRs‘, 
the sense which the words to be examined bear in other 
parts of the same writer; then, in other writings of the 
same period ; then, throughout the Bible. The meaning of 
words often changes; and all writers do not use the same 
word in the same sense. 


In the Epistles to the Romans and the Galatians, for example, 
‘works,’ when used alone, means the opposite of faith, namely, the 
performance of legal duties as the ground of salvation. In James 
the expression always means the obedience and holiness which flow 
from faith. In the one case, works are inconsistent with salvation ; 
in the other, they are essential to it. So, in John 1}, the term ‘word’ 
cannct be explained by 2 Tim 47, where the same term is employed, 
but in a different sense. The ‘word’ in Timothy means the gospel ; 
in John it is a personal appellation. 


2. Parallelism of Ideas.— Sometimes we have to com- 
pare the facts or doctrines of Scripture in order to gain a 
complete view of Scripture truth. This is the parallelism 
of ideas, and not of words only. 





198 THE INTERPRETATION OF SC 


If, for example, we wish to know whether, in the Lord’s Supper, the 
cup is to be received by all the faithful, or only by the priest, we turn 
to Mt 26°’, and we find the command, ‘ Drink ye all of it.’ And, if it 
be asked whether ‘all’ means the Apostles only, or all in its most com- 
prehensive sense, we turn to 1 Cor 117°, where we find that in each case 
(six in all) the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup are 
mentioned together, and enjoined on all Christians indifferently. The 
charge given to all is, ‘Let a man examine himself; and so let him eat 
of that bread, and drink of that cup.’ 

If we are investigating the meaning of Mt 16", ‘Thou art Peter, and 
upon this rock I will build My Church,’ we turn to 1 Cor 3", and find 
that the only foundation of the Church is Christ; also to the words of 
Peter himself in his first Epistle 2‘~*. In the sense, therefore, of being 
the foundation on which the salvation of the Church is to rest, the 
passage is at variance with other parts of Scripture. We turn, then, 
to Ac 2‘! and to Ac 10** 15’, and find that Peter’s preaching was the 
means of the first conversions, both among Jews and Gentiles. His 
labours, therefore, commenced the building, and in this sense he might 
be the foundation of the Church. Or, the statement may refer to 
Peter's confession, as Augustine and Luther held, or, more precisely, 
to the truth which he confessed ; and then the parallel passages are 
Gal 116 Jn 6°! 1 Jn 3% 425 


3. Passages mutually interpretative.—The most im- 
portant rule in reference to this order of parallelism is, that 
a passage in which an idea is expressed briefly or obscurely 
is explained by those in which it is fully or clearly revealed ; 
and that difficult and figurative expressions are explained by 
such as are proper and obvious. 

The doctrine of justification by faith, for example, is explained 
briefly in Phil 3°, and fully in the Epistles to the Romans and the 
Galatians, 

‘A new creature’ (or ‘creation,’ R. V. marg.) is a figurative expres- 
sion used in Gal 6", and is explained in ch. 5° and in x Cor 7". 

The ‘charity’ spoken of in 1 Pet 4° is ‘ brotherly love,’ and it is said 
to cover ‘a multitude of sins’; not because it extinguishes them, and 
80 justifies the sinner, but (as shown in Pr 10™) because it veils them 
’ from exposure, 


4. Many a passage is to be explained by a reference, not 
to any one or more texts, but to the general tenor of 
Scripture. We have examples of this kind of reference in 


RULE IV. COMPARISON OF PASSAGES 199 


Gal 5\*, and again in 1 Cor 15°11, where the Apostle states 
the facts and doctrines connected with the death and resur- 
rection of Christ, and then proceeds to prove other facts 
and doctrines from them. 

The general tenor of Scripture is briefly called in the 
_ Bible, ‘the Scriptures,’ 1 Cor 15°-+; or ‘all the Law,’ as in 
Gal 5"; or ‘the mouth ofall the Prophets,’ Ac 31% *, 


Illustrations.—1. God is set forth in Scripture as a Spirit, 
omniscient, and holy, and supreme. All passages, therefore, which 
seem to represent Him as material, local, limited in knowledge, in 
power, or in righteousness, are to be interpreted agreeably to these 
revealed truths. 

2. If, again, any expositor were to explain the passages of Scripture 
which speak of justification by faith as if it freed us from obligations 
to holiness, such interpretation must be rejected, because it counteracts 
the main design and spirit of the gospel. 

3. In Pr 16+, it is said, ‘The Lord has made all things for Himself : 
yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.’ The idea that the wicked 
were created that they might be condemned, which some have founded 
upon this passage, is inconsistent with innumerable parts of Scripture 
(Ps 145° Eze 187° 2 Pet 3°), The meaning therefore is that all evil 
shall contribute to the glory of God, and promote the accomplishment 
of His adorable designs. 


130. Importance of Parallels.—This expository use of 
parallel passages is often of great moment. 


Thus God, in several prophetic and poetical passages, represents 
Himself as giving men to drink of a cup which He holds in His hand : 
they take it, and fall prostrate on the ground in fearful intoxication. 
The figure is used with much brevity, and without explanation, in 
some of the Prophets». In Is 5117-*5 it is fully explained, and the 
meaning of the image becomes clear. The intoxication is desolation 


a This ‘ tenor of Scripture’ was often termed by theologians of the 
past ‘the analogy of faith,’ from an interpretation of Ro 12°, where 
the word dvadoyia is used. It is, however, now generally agreed that 
this passage refers to the proportion of the faith of those who 
‘prophesy.’ ‘They are to speak so far as they believe—no further. 
The phrase, therefore, is now seldom employed in the former sense. 

> Nah 3! Hab 2!§ Ps 60° 75° &c. 





200 THE INTERPRETATION OF SC 


and helplessness, more than can be borne ; and the cup is the fury (or 
righteous indignation) of Jehovah. 

In Ac 2” we find it said that ‘whosoever shall call on the name 
of the Lord shall be saved’; and it may be asked, What is meant by 
calling upon the name of the Lord? Matthew tells us that ‘ not every 
one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven’: 
so that the passage is not to be understood in its literal and restricted 
sense. On referring to Ro 10", and 1 Cor 1%, we find that this 
language, which is quoted from the prophet Joel, implied an admission 
of the Messiahship of Christ, and reliance on the doctrines which He 
revealed. 

Again, sin is called in Scripture a debt ; atonement, the payment of 
a debt ; pardon, the forgiveness of a debt. But we must not hold 
these terms so rigidly as to maintain that, because Christ died for 
man’s sin, therefore all will be finally saved; or that, because He has 
obeyed the Law, therefore sinners are free to live in sin. Men are 
dead in sin, but not so dead as to be free from the duty of repentance; 
nor are they guiltless if they disregard the Divine call. These 
principles are sufficiently obvious when applied to passages which 
contain figures founded upon material objects. They are even more 
important, though less easy, when applied to passages which contain 
figures taken from human nature or common life. More errors, 
probably, have arisen from pushing analogical expressions to an 
extreme than from any other single cause ; and against this tendency 
the sober, earnest student of the Bible needs to be specially upon his 
guard, 


Summary.—To ascertain, therefore, the meaning of any 
passage of Scriptufe, whether the words be employed figu- 
ratively or literally, we must ask the following questions : 
What is the meaning of the terms? If they have but one 
meaning, that is the sense. If they have several, we then 
ask, Which of those meanings is required by other parts of 
the sentence? If two or more meanings remain, then, 
What is the meaning required by the context, so as to 
make a consistent sense of the whole? If, still, more than 
one meaning remains, What then is required by the general 
scope? And, if this question fail to elicit a clear reply, 
What then is required by other passages of Scripture? If, 
in answer to all these questions, it is found that more than 
one meaning may still be given to the passage, then both 


HELPS FROM THE ORIGINAL 201 


interpretations are in themselves admissible ; and we must 
either select the one which best fulfils most of the conditions, 
or look elsewhere for some further guide. 

Theology is the whole meaning of Scripture—the sense 
taught in the whole of Scripture, as that sense is modified, 
limited, and explained by Scripture itself. It is a con- 
sistently interpreted representation of the statements of 
the Bible, on the various facts, doctrines, and precepts, 
which the book of God reveals. Thus is illustrated the 
ancient saying that ‘the good theologian is really only 
a good interpreter’; bonus theologus est bonus textuarius *. 


Helps to Interpretation, from the Original 
Scriptures 


131. Advantage of studying the Original Scriptures. 
—Thus far, questions of interpretation have been discussed 
with reference to the Bible as a translation. And unques- 
tionably, the care and ability bestowed on its different 
versions, especially on the ‘ Authorized’ and ‘ Revised,’ with 
the copious assistance furnished by critical commentators, 
will enable the English reader to understand and judge for 
himself on all essential points. Still, there are obvious 
advantages to be secured only by students of the original 
Hebrew and Greek. The exact connotation of particular 
words, the niceties of idiomatic expression, the degrees of 
variation in synonyms, and the shades of difference in 
parallel passages, are all liable to be obscured in even the 
best translations. A few illustrations are all that can here 
be given. 


132. The Study of Words: their Etymology.—We 
may seek for help from the worps THEMSELVEs, their etymo- 


* See Theology an Inductive and a Progressive Science, by Joseph Angus, 
D.D. (Present Day Tract, R.T.S.). 


202 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE _ 


logy, the analogy of speech, and the meaning of similar words 
in cognate dialects. 

I. Etymology traces the progress of the meaning of words, 
the changes of form which they undergo, and points out 
the significance of their several parts. It often gives the 
true meaning, explains the allusions of the context, and 
accounts for the rendering of ancient versions. 


In Genesis, as R.V. marg., ‘ firmament’ should be translated ‘expanse,’ 
the root meaning to beat or spread out. 

The Hebrew phrase for ‘ making (lit. “‘ cutting”) a covenant ’ refers 
to the stroke that smote the victim, whose death confirmed it. 

The original word for ‘ minister,’ in Heb 8? (Aetrovpyés), means, in 
classic Greek, one who performs a public work at his own cost ; hence, 
who serves in a special office and ministry, as priests and Levites in the 
Old Testament ; Apostles, prophets, and teachers in the New; in the 
above-quoted passage, our Lord Himself. With regard to angels, their 
ministry of worship expressed by this word and its cognates, is dis- 
tinguished from their service toman. See Heb 174 and comp. Mt 4*. 
The word Aeroupyia (whence ‘ liturgy’) expresses the affectionate and 
reverential ministration of the Philippians to the Apostle Paul, 
Phil 2°°, 

The Hebrew word for ‘to make atonement’ (183, kippér) means, 
properly, to ‘cover over’ sin, or expiate; and, secondarily, to pro- 
pitiate, i.e. to remove the displeasure of another in relation to it. 
The corresponding word in the LXX and New Testament (iAdoxopat 
or éftAackopat, subst. ikacyés) means, in the New Testament, first, 
to propitiate, and, secondarily, to atone for. In Heb 2” it is ren- 
dered in A. V. ‘make reconciliation,’ and in R. V. ‘propitiation,’ also 
1Jn 2° 4! *‘ Reconciliation,’ xaraAAayn, with its kindred verb, is the 
result of expiation (Ro 5!! 11! 2 Cor 5'*"°, and the verb in Ro 5'° 
1 Cor 74 2Cor 51*!"-*°), In Ro 5" the A. V. reads ‘atonement,’ according 
to the Old English derivation of the word at-one-ment, but as this 
rendering produces confusion with that of iAacyuds (see the converse in 
Heb 2!7, noted above) the R. V. rendering is preferable. In other 
passages, and from another point of view, the work of Christ is 
described as a redemption (droAvrpwots) or ransom, as from captivity 
or slavery—a stronger synonym of Av’rpwois, which also occurs Lu 
168 258 Heb 9!” The ransom price is Avtpov, Mt 207° Mk 10%, 
or davridutpoy, 1 Tim 2°, But sometimes the word is ‘purchase’ 
(ayopatew), Gal 3'8 4° Rev 5° 14°‘, the price being muy, 1 Cor 62° 77%, 
In Ac 20” ‘purchased’ means simply ‘acquired for Himself.’ The 





HELPS FROM THE ORIGINAL 203 


words owe, ‘to save,’ and cwrnpia, ‘salvation,’ express in general 
the state into which those who believe are introduced ; whether past 
‘ye have been saved,’ Eph 2°; present and progressive ‘being saved,’ 
Ac 2*7 2 Cor 215; or future ‘we shall be saved’ Ro 5°! R, V. 

All these passages express in various ways the one thought that 
‘Christ died for us’ (i7ép, ‘on behalf of’). 

The Greek word for ‘ to sacrifice’ (@Jev) means, in Homer, to burn 
wine or food in the fire as an offering, and in later writers, to sacrifice, 
properly so called, From this double meaning we have two sets of 
Greek words, the one referring to the slaying of victims (6vw, 6vaia), 
and the other to the sweet odours, or incense, which were offered to 
God (@upiapa). Hence, also, @dw is used to translate two different 
Hebrew words, meaning, respectively, to sacrifice, and to burn sweet 
incense, 1 Sa 3!4 2 Ch 2514 28° Jer 136 44°. 

Nearly all Names in Hebrew are significant, and a knowledge of 
their meaning throws light upon the context. The prophecies of 
Jacob concerning his sons refer in a great degree to their names, 
Gen 49 compared with 29, 30. See also Ru 12° Gen 4". 

It must, however, be borne in mind that etymology does not of 
itself fix the meaning of words ; but only where usage is either doubtful 
or silent; and it is always, from the changes in connotation which 
words undergo, a somewhat uncertain guide. 


2. Analogies of Words.— Analogy fixes the meaning of 
one form of a word from the known meaning of the similar 
form of another word, or of one word from the meaning of 
some opposite or corresponding one. 


That ‘ folly? means sin in Gen 34’ Dt 2171 Jos 7” 2 Sa 13!°, may be 
gathered from the fact that ‘wisdom’ means, in various parts of 
Scripture, ‘uprightness’ or ‘ piety.’ 

Mt 675-16 dméyouvor tov puiobdy. Bp. Lightfoot on Phil 4!§ remarks 
that ‘the idea of amd in this compound is correspondence, i.e. of the 
contents to the capacity, of the possession to the desire, &c., so that it 
denotes the full complement.’ Thus azoxy, the noun, means in later 
Greek (Ulpian) a receipt in full, so that the phrase may be taken to 
mean ‘ they have their reward *; that is, all they will ever get. 

In Mt 6" Lu 115° émovov.oy has been variously rendered ; it does not 
occur in the LXX, or elsewhere. It has been translated, ‘ suitable for 
our subsistence ’ (ovoia) : a similar meaning, again, has been thought 
to be fixed by an analogous expression ; mepiovcroy means more than 
enough, and as émi often indicates adaptedness, émovcvoy means just 
enough, as Pr 30° ‘food convenient for me’ (lit. the bread of my 
pertion). The main difficulty of these interpretations is that, according 





F 


204 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


to analogy, the word would be érovovoy (the. elided) ; and the explana- 
tion now generally preferred is that the word is formed from the 
fem. participle émotca, which, with the article 4 émotca (jpuépa) the 
oncoming day, signifies to-morrow. ‘**Food for the morrow” is equiva- 
lent to necessary or sufficient food. That state of mind is portrayed 
which, piously contented with food sufficing from one day to the 
next, in praying to God for sustenance, does not go beyond the 
absolute necessity of the nearest future.—Grimm’s New Testament 
Lexicon, edited by Thayer. 


3. Words in Cognate Languages—Hebrew.—We may 
compare the words in Scripture with the same words in 
cognate languages. The value of cognate languages, though 
sometimes underrated, has been exaggerated. By modern 
lexicographers, they are applied within proper limits, and 
are of use chiefly when ancient versions differ, and where 
we have not, in Hebrew, materials sufficient for defining 
the meaning of terms. 


a. They give the roots of words, the derivatives of which alone are 
found in Scripture, and thus aid to a consistent meaning. 

1x, “eythadn, for example, is a somewhat rare word, transiated 
‘mighty stream’ (i.e. overflowing), Am 54; so Ps 74%; ‘strength’ 
(constant flowing), Ex 14°7; ‘strong’ (durable), Mic 67; ‘mighty’ 
(prosperous), Job 12! ; so Num 24”! Jer 49". The Arabic root means 
‘to continue running’; then, ‘to continue’ generally, Le. ‘to 
endure’; then, ‘to be inexhaustibly rich’; hence the very various 
meanings of these texts. In Pr 13! ‘the way of transgressors’ (or 
‘deceivers’) is ‘eythan; probably ‘headstrong,’ ‘regardless of con- 
sequences.’ But R. V. translates ‘ rugged.’ 

vb. They fix meanings which might otherwise have been only con- 
jectural. 

23, balag, for example, occurs four times (in Hiphil): Job 9”, 
‘comfort myself’; 107°, ‘take comfort’; Ps39™, ‘recover strength’ (R. V. 
marg., in these passages, ‘brighten up’); Am 5°, ‘that strengtheneth 
the spoiled’ (R. V. marg., ‘causeth destruction to flash forth’); the 
versions are altogether uncertain. The Arabic root means ‘to shine 
like the dawn’; ‘to be, or to render, clear and serene.’ 

c. They discover the primary meaning of roots whose secondary 
senses only are found in Scripture, though the primary throws light 
on some texts. 

y2, gadhal, for example, means ‘to be great,’ but, in Arabic, ‘to 


HELPS FROM THE ORIGINAL 205 


twist,’ and so ‘to make great or strong’; hence a noun formed from 
it means ‘fringes,’ Dt 22!2; ‘twisted thread,’ or ‘chain work,’ 
1 Ki 72”. Another noun, similarly formed, means ‘ vigour,’ Ex 1516. 

J22, barak, means, primarily, ‘to kneel,’ an attitude expressive of 
intense desire. Hence, ‘to bless’ and ‘to curse,’ Job 29 (14 25). Or 
this latter sense may arise from the notion of Sarewell— bid good-bye 
to.’ So R. V. ‘renounce.’ 

d, They explain idiomatic phrases, the true sense of which cannot 
otherwise be determined. 


4. Greek Classic Writers.—In the case of the New 
Testament, we may seek the meaning of its words and 
phrases im classic authors. 


miotis, Which commonly means ‘ faith,’ is used in the sense of proof, 
‘the ground of assurance,’ Ac 17°1, so Aristotle, Polybius. 

énayyéAAopar means, by itself, ‘to announce,’ and so ‘to promise’; 
followed by certain nouns, it means to ‘ profess’ (1 Tim 2°). The 
word is regularly used for professing an art or science, Diog. Laert., 
Proem. 5, 12; Xen. Mem. i. 2, 7. 

mapa, in composition, sometimes means in the Greek Testament ‘ by 
the way,’ Ro 57°; or ‘secretly,’ Gal 2'4 Ju*; a usage found in classic 
authors, Polyb., Herodian, Plut. 

70 émPaddAov pépos, Lu 15), is a legal phrase, indicating the share 
which fell to a man as heir; the use of the word here shows how com- 
pletely the prodigal son was estranged from all filial feeling. Herodotus 
iy. 115 ; Diod. xiv. 17. 

The apparently incomplete sentences in Lu 13° 19%? are good 
Greek ; the custom being, frequently, to omit the apodosis (or con- 
clusion) of a sentence after «i or édv, when the meaning is clear. 

Other classical usages are illustrated by such instances as ‘ being 
thirty-eight years in his infirmity,’ i.e. being ill for thirty-eight 
years, Jn 5°, comp. 8°7 9?! 1117; ‘preserved Noah (the) eighth,’ i.e 
Noah and seven others, 2 Pet 2°. 

Bos, Elsner, Kypke, Grotius, Wolf, Wetstein, Raphel, have largely 
illustrated the phraseology of the New Testament from classic sources ; 
Kypke and Raphel from particular authors, and the rest from eluate 
authorities generally. 


5. Greek: Josephus and Philo.—Or we may turn to 
the works of Josephus and Philo, which in this respect are 
not unimportant. 


perewpi(ecOa means, etymologically, to hang up in the air; but it is 


206 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


used both by Philo and Josephus for ‘to be of doubtful mind,’ as in 
the New Testament. 

inwmacer, literally, to ‘hit under the eyes’ (Lu 18° 1 Cor 9%”), means, 
generally, ‘to harass,’ ‘to afflict.’ 

épnuepia, Lu 15, translated ‘course,’ means the daily service of the 
Temple, which was discharged by bands of priests in rotation (Jos, 
Ant. Vii. 14. 7). 

«picts (judgement), Mt 5°’, was the name given to the court of seven 
magistrates, who had the power of punishing small offences (Jos. 
Ant. iv. 8. 14). See Schiirer, New Testament Times, § 23. 11. 

7a éykaina (the renewal), Jn 10”, is the term used by Philo as 
appropriate to express the Feast of the Dedication instituted by Judas 
Maccabeeus, B.c. 164, after Antiochus’ sacrilege, held on the 25 Kisleu, 
as 7 vnoteia is the fast connected with the Day of Atonement, ro Tisri, 
Ac 27°. 


6. Aramaic expressions.—Especially useful shall we 
find a reference to Semitic languages, including the Hebrew, 
from which, indeed, many New Testament phrases are 
taken. 


Hebraisms may be seen in Heb 1°, alwy = ody, alam, so els Tov aldva 
or Tovs aiwvas = ‘for ever’; eipqyy, often = O>', shdlim, ‘all blessing,’ 
Mk 5** Lu 7°°; ‘peace to you’ being the Hebrew form of ‘ salutation,’ 
as xatpev is in Greek, Jas 11: sometimes eipnvn is used in the Greek 
sense for peace, Lu 14°", and sometimes in the Christian sense, Ro 2!” 
Lu 19%? : éfopoAoyetc0ae (777, hidah), ‘to acknowledge the qualities of 
another’; so as ‘to praise,’ Mt 11°: wopevec@a, to indicate a ‘mode of 
life’: «i, elliptically employed after verbs of swearing, a strong nega- 
tive, Mk8}* Heb 4°" : *dvay«n means ‘straits, calamity,’ Lu 21°51 Cor7™ : 
‘to taste death,’ Mt 16°8: ‘heaven,’ for God, Dn 47°: see Mt 21° 
Lu 1571: *dpeAqpuara dprévac = ‘ to forgive sins’: 5éev and Avew (Aram., 
TON NI, shér2 ’esdr), ‘to forbid and to appoint’ (see J. Lightfoot, Hore 
Hebraice et Talmudice, on Mt 16): ‘to die in sin,’ Jn 8*!-*4—< to 
perish because of sin’ (Ley 5°): poxdés, used spiritually after the 
Hebrew (123, 2oneh), not literally, as Jas 44. Some of these expressions 
marked (*) are found in classic authors, and are therefore called 
imperfect Hebraisms. See Ac 19° 244 2! Jas 2° Mt 15” Mk 7%, (‘evil’) 
is envious, 

For other Aramaic expressions, see § 40, The Hebraisms of the 
New Testament are fully iJlustrated in the works of Lightfoot, and 
in the supplementary volumes of Schoetgen. See also Winer’s New 
Testament Grammar, ed. Moulton. 





HELPS: THE SEPTUAGINT 207 


Glossaries and other Authorities.—Nor is it unim- 
portant, in ascertaining the meaning of words, to consult 
ancient scholiasts and glosses, and the writings of the early 
Fathers. The first two give the meaning generally, without 
supplying evidence or proof passages, and the second give 
professed interpretations of Scripture language. 


Hesychius, for example, explains the ‘tittles’ of the law, Mt 5%, 
by defining the ‘tittle’ as the mark made in beginning to write 
a letter of the alphabet (dpx7 ypapparos) ; and Suidas explains Bartzo- 
Aoyelv by ‘ wordiness,’ or ‘ much speaking’ (moAvAoyia), 67. 

puvoTnpiov is explained by Clem. Rom. as a revealed secret. 

avdevrcivy avdpés 1 Tim 21”, means, according to early Greek usage, 
to kill her husband ; but Theophylact explains it, ‘ to usurp authority 
over’: so the English version. «v7pareAia, which means, properly, 
‘lively (‘‘nimble-witted ”) discourse,’ is explained by Chrysostom in 
his oration on Eph 5%, and by Jerome, as’something said (generally 
foolish and sinful) to provoke a laugh ; ‘foolish jesting’ gives, there- 
fore, the precise meaning. That avadAnyis, Lu 9°, refers to our Lord’s 
ascension may be gathered from Ac 1”, and it is proved by a similar 
use of this phrase in the Fathers. 

The chief Greek glossaries are the lexicons of Hesychius (400), 
Suidas (980), and Phavorinus (1523) ; the Etymologicum Magnum (tenth 
century), with the works of Photius (850) and Zonaras (1118). The 
glosses, or explanations of the first four, so far as the New Testament 
is concerned, were edited by C. G. Ernesti, 1785-6, and those of 
Zonaras in 1618. Matthzi (Mose. 1774-5, Lips. 1779) and Alberti 
(Lug. Bat. 1735) have also published glosses, selected from the margin 
of ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. 

For a view of the explanations of New Testament terms given in 
the Fathers see by far the completest book on this subject, the 
Thesaurus Ecclesiasticus of Suicer, 2 vols., 1728; or indexes of good 
editions of the Fathers themselves. For the teaching of the Fathers 
on books or parts of Scripture, see the compendious collections published 
under the name of Catene: some of their comments are good, many 
trifling. : 

The Septuagint.—The chief help to the study of the 
New Testament, however, remains: the version of the 
LXX: words and phrases being often taken from that 
version, and used in an altogether peculiar sense. 


d:a0jxn, for example, means in classic Greek, ‘a disposition of 





208 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


property,’ or ‘a will,’ but in the LXX it is frequently used to 
translate m2, bérith, in the sense of ‘covenant’ or ‘agreement 
between parties,’ which classic authors express by cvv@q«n, Gen 17°™. 
It is applied to the agreement between Abraham and Abimelech, 
2177-82 » between Laban and Jacob, 31*4 ; compare Dt 7° 17? 29° Ps 131” 
Is 42°. See further in Ch. I, § 7. 

dAndea, ‘truth,’ is used for, and means ‘all probity or holiness,’ 
Ps 26° 86", and also ‘substance,’ as opposed to ‘type or shadow,’ 
Jn 117 Heb 8?. 

vépos = in (térah), the whole Mosaic economy, Dt 4°4* Mt 5"7 7” 
Jn 177, 

ovyxpivew means in classic Greek, ‘to confound, or mix’; in the 
LXX, it is ‘to interpret, or explain,’ Gen 40%, and hence perhaps 
1 Cor 2’, ‘expounding spiritual things by spiritual’ (neut.), ‘adapting 
the discourse to the subject.’ Another interpretation, which takes the 
latter adj. as masculine, ‘interpreting spiritual things to spiritual 
persons,’ is generally abandoned. _ But see R. V. and margin. 

éml 70 aité = yap, yachdav, ‘ together,’ Mt 22% Ac 1 2 Sa a! ro, 

maoa odpt ov = ‘no flesh shall,’ = Nd 55, Kol 16, Ex 1243 ; sometimes 
the LXX use the classic phrase, ov« ovdeis, Ex ro. 

The LXX translate ny=n, chatta’th, in the sense of ‘sin offering,’ by 
the phrases wept dyaprias, Lev 5° 757; itp duaprias, Levy 8? ; iAacpés, 
Eze 44°", and hence the use of these phrases in the New Testament. 
On the other hand, it may be noticed that the Hebrew word means 
both ‘an act of sin’ and ‘a sinful disposition,’ as does duapria. For 
the act, however, dudaprnua is occasionally used, Mk 3°8 Ro 3”° x Cor 
68. See Trench, Synonyms, xvi, and Grimm’s Lexicon (Thayer), s. vy. 
dpapria. 

‘O épxépevos, ‘the coming one,’ is the LXX translation of a phrase 
of Messianic import, and hence applied frequently in the New Testa- 
ment to our Lord, Lu 31° Heb 108’, not ‘shall come,’ but ‘is coming,’ 
or ‘is to come,’ Rev 1°. 

The New Testament also abounds in Hellenistic constructions : 
nouns absolute for example, Rev 145 2°° 312; unusual governments ; 
adj. with gen. case and no prep., Jn 6*°, and the contrary, Mt 27%; 
ané in the sense of ‘by’ or ‘because,’ yo min, Mt 117° 187 Gal 11 2 Cor 
338 Ac aal), 

Causation is expressed in Hebrew by a special verbal form, the 
‘Hiphil’ conjugation. Thus, from the verb ‘to be king’ the Hiphil 
signifies ‘to make a king,’ 1 Sar5*°. But in the LXX the two meanings 
(neuter and active) are often expressed by the same word, as in this 
passage, and Gen 2° 4@ 197! Num 6% 3417 Is 61% Hence the New 
Testament also frequently employs the neuter verb with active 
meanings, as Mt 5*°, dvaréAAci, ‘rises’ = ‘ causes to rise’; Bpéxet, ‘rains’ = 


HELPS FROM GRAMMAR 209 


‘causes to rain’; paOnrevev, ‘to be disciples’ (as 2757) or ‘make 
disciples, 281.’ See also 1 Cor 3°, Sometimes 2 Cor 2!° has been 
regarded asa similar instance, A. V. ‘causeth us totriumph.’ But see 
R. V. and compare Col a™, ; 


133. Grammatical peculiarities.— Many specialities of 
Greek idiom, overlooked in the Authorized Version, and 
successfully reproduced by the Revisers, have been already 
noted. Others, however, there are which it would be 
difficult, perhaps impossible, to express distinctly in trans- 
lation. A few instances only can be given, but these will 
be sufficient to show the interest and importance of studying 
the original. 


(a) Tenses (Greek).—The force of the tenses is to be 
especially noted, as in the ‘imperfect’ or continuous tenses, 
present and past. Thus 1 Jn 3°, ‘Whosoever is begotten of 
God doeth no sin... and he cannot sin.’ The original 
shows the meaning to be ‘doth not—cannot habitually live 
in sin’; character being denoted rather than single acts. 
1 Cor 1576 ‘the last enemy is abolished,’ rather, ‘is being 
abolished,’ the tense expressing both the process and 
the certain issue. Instances of the past imperfect are 
as in Mk 5%, ‘He expounded all things to His disciples,’ 
that is, it was His custom to do so. In such passages as 
Mt 25° Lu 15° Eph 52? Heb 11!" the force of the tense is 
accurately marked in R. V.; so in the sentences where the 
imperfect describes a continuous action, the aorist a com- 
pleted one, Mt 4! 8!5 138 177 25° Lu 773. Sometimes 
again, the distinction, though existing, is too slight to be 
successfully shown in translation, while nevertheless it 
exists, 1 Cor 104 Jas 27, 

(6) Very noteworthy also is the use of the Personal Pro- 
noun as subject of the verb, to express emphasis or contrast. 
This is sometimes shown in R. V., as Mt 121, ‘it is He that 
shall save’ (none other); but it is often impracticable to 
retain the special shade of meaning in translation. Thus, 

P 





210 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Adyw tyiv (as Mt 51°, &e.) is ‘IT say unto you,’ but éyd A€yo 
iptv (as generally in the Sermon on the Mount) ‘JZ say unto 
you,’ the emphasis implying His own authority. Jn 5% 
‘Ye’ (pronoun not expressed) ‘ search the Scriptures, because 
ye yourselves think,’ &c., implying a strong reproach of in- 
consistency ; 1 Cor 1*° ‘ We preach a crucified Christ,’ in 
strong contrast with Jewish and Greek teachers; Mt 28° 
‘Do not you fear,’ i.e. as the soldier-guards have feared. 
See also Jn g*4 10° 13° Ac 4” 22%! 7 Cor 15%° 1 Jn 4”, 
This form of emphasis is often a useful help to interpre- 
tation *, 


(c) The Definite Article.—The peculiarities of the Greek 
tongue are nowhere more instructive or beautiful than in 
the use of the Article. Many illustrations of this have 
already been given in the chapter on Bible translation, 
§ 115, where it is seen that the Revised English version has 
in almost numberless instances reproduced this usage, with 
great gain in perspicuity and precision. Some other points 
remain, which can be fully appreciated only by reference 
to the original. 

It must be remembered that the Greek has only one 
Article, the Definite. The Indefinite Article is expressed 
in the New Testament by zis, ‘a certain’; occasionally by 
els, ‘one’; more generally by the omission of the article 
altogether. In Mt 13° ‘a sower’ (A. VY.) is in the Greek 
5 oxeipwv, literally, ‘the (man) sowing’: the Article marks 
out the definite sower in the concrete picture presented. 
As the picture is typical the sense is not misrepresented by 
‘a sower,’ i. e. any sower; but there is gain of vividness in 
following the Greek idiom ‘the sower’ (R. V.). 


Special uses of the Article beyond those indicated in 
§ 115, 2, and embodied in the R. V., are such as the following. 
1. With proper names, the names of persons well known 


® See further, Handbook to the Grammar of the Gk, Test., § 169. 


HELPS FROM GRAMMAR 211 


generally take the Article ; but because they are well known, 
their names also dispense with it. Hence “Ijoots and 6 
"Incots : see Mt 13-'® 216.19. Names generally, when men- 
tioned the first time, omit the Article, and take it when 
the mention is repeated. But to this rule there are 
many exceptions. No absolute rule can therefore be given 
on the matter. Xpiotds in the Gospels and Acts almost 
invariably has the Article, being strictly an appellative, 
‘the Christ,’ ‘the Messiah,’ Mt 2* 117 22!? Jn 7*! 12** Ac 17°. 
But in the Epistles the appellation has already become a 
recognized proper name. Thus, in the writings of Paul, 
‘the Christ’ about 90 times; ‘Christ’ alone, 120, The 
name of the Holy Spirit, Mvedya dyov, requires the Article 
when He is spoken of personally, but when the reference 
is to His manifestation and gift to man, the Article is 
almost invariably omitted. Thus the literal rendering 
of Jn 7° is ‘(the) Spirit as yet was not,’ Article omitted ; 
the sense being ‘the Spirit was not yet given.’ So Ac 197 
‘We did not so much as hear whether there be (a) Holy 
Spirit,’ i.e. ‘whether the Holy Spirit was given.’ Compare 
Jn 16!% with Jn 20”, 

The name for Gop may be @eds or 6 Oeds. The general 
difference is that without the Article the name stands for 
the general conception of the Divine character, but with the 
Article, God as revealed, ‘our God.’ See 1 Cor 3°"1% Krpuos, 
Lord, when used of Christ, naturally takes the Article, but 
in proportion as it tends to become a proper name (and 
after prepositions) may omit it. As the LXX equivalent 
of Jehovah, Lorp, it is regularly without the Article. 

2. With abstract nouns and words made abstract, when 
the abstract word simply denotes a quality, the Article is 
omitted. Where the abstraction is personified, or made 
a separate object of thought, the Article is employed. Thus 


* See, for further examples, Handbook to the Grammar of the Gk. Test., 
§ 217. 
P2 





1 Cor 13! ‘if I have not love,’ a feature of character (Article 
omitted); but verse 4 ‘ Love suffereth long,’ &e. (Article ex- 
pressed), and so throughout the chapter. So Ro 5'° ‘sin was 
in the world,’ as an attribute of character (Article omitted), 
illustrating the statement of verse 12, that Sin had entered 
into the world (Article expressed), a personified abstraction. 
See also r Cor 15% death; Jn 7*-* circumcision ; 1 Cor 
11!* nature; Mt 111° Phil 3°. Numbers in the abstract (rd 
év, unity, the state of being one), and the infinitive used as 
a noun, 70 wurevew = believing, belong to this class. The 
use of the Article with voyos, law, is special. "Without the 
Article the stress is on the fact of a Divine law, rather 
than on the code which embodies it: Ro 21-25-25 220.28.81 7310 
Gal 216-19 325.10 Tn most of these passages, so important in 
their bearing upon the Apostle’s argument, the R. V. has 
‘the law’ in the text, and ‘law’ in the margin. Where 
vopos has the Article the reference is to the Mosaic Law, 
except when the meaning is limited by accompanying words. 

3. Usage with special words and phrases. (a) Nouns 
representing objects in nature which exist singly, and entire 
natural substances, generally take the Article. Mt 5% 
heaven and earth ; 24”? the sun; Mk 13*° summer (= the 
hot season); light; salt; water. Generally, we omit the 
Article in these cases, whenever, at least, the use of it would 
indicate some particular thing, rather than the universal 
substance. 

(b) Words indicating entire species, either of animals or 
objects, generally take the Article. Mt 6' men, as men; 7° 
dogs, as dogs ; Mt 101° serpents ; Lu 21° any fig-tree ; Jas 3* 
(the) ships. The omission of the Article would indicate that 
the statement made is true only of some, and not of the 


class asa whole. The English generally omits the Article — 


in these cases. 
(c) Whole classes of agents generally take it. Mt 1o' the 
labourer ; Mt 18'* the publican ; Mt 25°* the shepherd. 


: 


HELPS FROM GRAMMAR 213 


(d) The phrase «is rév aidva or tovs aidvas, ‘for the age’ or 
‘ages’ = eternity, the conception being in the one case of 
a mighty whole, in the other of successive epochs, The 
point of view is different but the meaning is the same— 
intensified in the phrase <is tots aidvas tdv aidvey, ‘for ever 
and ever,’ Heb 1371, &c. 

(e) With Adjectives signifying all, every, many, other, 
the use of the Article should be specially noted. ‘All the 
house’ is as 6 otxos, ‘every house’ mas otxos. See Eph 3% 
‘every family’; 2 Tim 31° ‘every Scripture.’ ‘Many’ and 
‘the many’ must also be distinguished ; the latter denoting 
sometimes the majority, sometimes the whole mass ; 
Ro 5!*-19, 

The exceptions to these rules are numerous, but easily 
classified. The grammatical term anarthrous means ‘ with- 
out the Article.’ Anarthrous words in Greek are occasionally 
such as the following :— 


(a) Generally, where the intrinsic meaning is so clear that per- 
spicuity is not affected by the omission. 

Certain principal objects of nature, Mt 13° 1 Cor 1541 2 Pet 3! Jas 15, 
Superlatives and ordinal numbers. Compare Mk 1535 Mt 147° 225%, So 
to a certain extent in English. 

(>) Nouns not in themselves definite, when made definite by the 
context, so that no ambiguity can arise. 

(¢) Nouns used generically, i.e. with prepositions, Mt 17° Mk 10%” 
Jn 11 16* Ro 8* x Cor 14!%2835, This idiom is very frequent and 
cannot always be represented in English, although analogous with 
our phrases at home, at church, &c. 


A very striking use of the omission of the Article is to 
eall attention to the idea in: the anarthrous word. 

Heb 1! of old, God spake by the prophets, now by One Who is Son, 
év via: so 778. x Cor 14* himself (alone)—a church. Jn 3° that which 
is born of the flesh (article) is flesh (no article). Ro 11° grace (article) 
is no longer grace (no article), 7°. 

The Article in enumerations.— Here the rule is that 
when two or more words are connected, and are descriptive 






214. THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTUI 


of a single object, or of objects regarded as single, the 
Article is prefixed (as in English) to the first only, as:— 


Mt 12% (rec.) ‘the blind and dumb.’ Lu 11” they that hear and 
keep. Jn 64° Ro 25 Eph 2% 57° 1 Jn 24. 

Similarly the Article is not repeated, when a single class of things 
or qualities is described by an enumeration of its parts. Eph 3% 
‘what is the breadth and length,’ &c., describing the extent. Mt 20” 
to mock (article), and scourge, and crucify—the sufferings. So Ac 8° 
r Cor 1122, 

Nor when the words used express one idea, though a complex one. 
Phil 2"? ‘upon the sacrifice and service of your faith.’ 2 Cor 13™ ‘the 
God of love and peace’ (not and of peace), Col 2** Tit 2" 2 Pet 1™. 

Nor when two or more persons make one agency, or a single act is 
directed against two or more objects. Mt 17! Peter (article) and 
John and James ; Lu 19" Ac 3" 17, 

On the contrary, the Article is repeated when distinctness is given 
to each of the things named. Mt 23%. Tit 3* the goodness and the 
philanthropy of God our Saviour appeared. 

The Article is also repeated when the words employed are not 
descriptive of a single object, or of what is regarded as such. Lu 12" 
(three different classes of tribunal), comp. Mk 15'. Heb 11” Isaac 
blessed tov "IaxwB and tov ’Hoad (two separate blessings). 2 Th 1° 
to those who know not... and to those who do not obey (two different 
characters, the ignorant and the disobedient). 

These rules are of special importance for the interpretation of the 
following passages :-— 

Tit 2 the ‘appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour 
Jesus Christ.’ 

2 Th 1'? ‘according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus 
Christ.’ 

Eph 55 ‘the kingdom of Christ and God.’ 

1 Tim 5” ‘I charge thee in the sight of God, and Christ Jesus, and 
the elect angels.’ 

Ju 4 ‘denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.’ 

These renderings are all from the R.V. although doubt is thrown 
upon some of them in the margin. Plainly, they come under the rule 
of enumeration with the omitted Article. 


The doctrine of the Greek Article was first formally 
examined in modern times by Granville Sharp ; afterwards, 
at greater length, and with more accuracy, by Dr. Middleton, 
sume of whose conclusions, however, have been overthrown 


FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE 215 


by more recent investigation. The above rules are in 
harmony with such of Middleton’s as have stood the test, 
and may be compared with the full discussion of the subject 
in Winer’s Grammar of the New Testament; T. 8. Green’s 
Grammar of the New Testament Dialect, and similar works, 


On the Interpretation of the Figurative 
Language of Scripture 


134. Thus far, the literal meaning of Scripture has 
chiefly been considered. But its figurative language is 
so varied and important as to demand separate treatment. 
It is from misunderstanding this that many errors in inter- 
pretation have arisen, while it presents at every point almost 
boundless suggestiveness and instruction. 


The Spiritual through the Natural.— Most of the 
language which men employ in reference to spiritual things 
is founded on analogy or resemblance. This is true of all 
language which speaks of the mind or of its acts; and 
especially of the language of early times. In the infancy 
of races, language is nearly all figure, and describes even 
common facts by the aid of natural symbols. The very 
word ‘spirit’ means in its derivation, ‘breath.’ The mind 
is said to see truth, because the act of the mind by which 
it is perceived bears some resemblance to the act of the eye. 
To ‘reflect’ is literally to bend or throw back, and so to 
look round our thoughts. ‘ Attention’ is a mental exercise, 
analogous to the stretching of the muscles of eye and head 
in the examination of some outward object. It is a 
necessity of the human intellect that facts connected with 
the mind, or with spiritual truth, must be clothed in 
language borrowed from material things. To words 
exclusively spiritual or abstract we can attach no definite 
conception. 


= 
- 


216 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


And God is pleased to condescend to our necessity. He 
leads us to new knowledge by means of what is already 
known. He reveals Himself in terms previously familiar. 
If He speak of Himself, it must be in words originally 
suggested by the operations of the senses. If He speak of 
heaven, it is in figures taken from the scenes of the earth. 

We say that God ‘condescends to our necessity.’ It 
might be as truly said that God, having stamped His own 
image upon natural things, employs them to describe and 
illustrate Himself. ‘The visible world is the dial-plate of 
the invisible.’ Spiritual thoughts were first embodied in 
natural symbols ; and those symbols are now employed to — 
give ideas of spiritual truth. To the devout man, especially, 
the seen and the unseen world are so closely blended that 
he finds it difficult to separate them. The world of nature 
is to him an emblem, and a witness of the world of spirits. 
They proceed from the same hand. In his view— 

Earth 
Is but the shadow of heaven, and things therein 
Are each to other like. 

Nor is it only from the nature of spiritual truth, or frum 
the marvellous connexion which subsists between material 
and spiritual things, that the inspired writers employ the 
language of figure. Such language is often most appropriate, 
because of its impressiveness and beauty. It conveys ideas 
to the mind with more vividness than prosaic description. 
It charms the imagination while instructing the judgement, 
and it impresses the memory by interesting the heart. 

1. Sometimes, for example, common things are associated 
in Scripture with what is spiritual. 

God dwells in ‘light.’ He sets up His ‘kingdom.’ Heaven is His 
‘throne.’ The Christian’s faith is described in the same order of 
terms. He ‘handles’ the word of life. He ‘sees’ Him Who is 
invisible. He ‘comes’ to Christ, and he ‘leans’ upon Him, 


2. Sometimes the Bible, borrowing comparisons from 






FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE 217 


ourselves, speaks of God as having human affections, and 
performing human actions. 


Hands, eyes, and feet are ascribed to God; and the meaning is 
that He has power to execute all such acts as those organs in us are 
instrumental in effecting. He is called ‘the Father’; because He is 
the Creator and Supporter of man, and especially, because He is the 
Author of spiritual life. He ‘lifts up the light of His countenance’ 
when He manifests His presence and love (Ps 4°), and He ‘hides His 
face’ (Ps 10!) when these blessings are withheld. 

In Gen 6° it is said, ‘It repented the Lord that He had made man,’ 
i.e. He had no longer pleasure in His work, so unpleasing and 
unprofitable had man become by transgression. 

In Gen 187! He says, ‘I will go... and see,’ to imply that He would 
examine the doings of men before condemning them. 

In Jer 78 He says, ‘I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking,’ 
to imply the interest He felt in their welfare, and the care He had 
taken to instruct them. 

In Dn 4° it is said, ‘He doeth dod to His will,’ i.e. not 
capriciously, but independently of men, and so as justly to require our 
entire submission. 

It may be observed generally, that though there is identity both 
of nature and of manifestation between the love and wisdom, the 
knowledge and holiness, which we ascribe to God, and those same 
attributes in men, there is yet a vast difference between them. In 
God is the infinite and perfect reality of which the noblest human 
attainment is but a pale copy. 


Some remarks in reference to the employment of this 
analogical language are important. 


I. Figurative language essentially true.—The figures 
which are used in speaking of spiritual truth are not used, 
as in common description, to give an unnatural greatness 
or dignity to the objects they describe. The things repre- 
sented have much more of reality and perfection in them 
than the things by which we represent them. It is so in 
all such language. The mind weighs arguments, and that 
action is more noble than the mechanical habit from which 
the expression is taken. God sees much more perfectly 
than the eye: and the light in which He dwells is very 
feebly represented by the material element to which that 





ME 
218 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


name is applied. When it is said that the Church is the 
bride of Christ, the earthly relation is but a lower form of 
the heavenly, in the same way as earthly kingdoms and 
earthly majesty are but figures and faint shadows of the 
true. The figurative language, then, which we are com- 
pelled to employ when speaking of spiritual things is much 
within the truth, and never beyond it. 


2. Manifold meanings in figurative language.—It is 
a necessary result of the employment of such language, that 
figurative expressions are sometimes used in different senses. 


If God is said, for example, to repent, and to turn from the evil 
which He had threatened against sinners, and in other places it is 
said that God is ‘not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of 
man, that He should repent ’ (Num 23"°)—in the first it is meant that 
God changes His dealings with sinners when they change: and in 
the second, that there is no fickleness or untruthfulness in Him. 

In Ps 18" God is said to make ‘ darkness His secret place,’ and in 
1 Tim 6'6 He is said to dwell in light. In the first case, darkness 
means inscrutableness, and in the second, light means purity, in- 
telligence, or honour. In Ex 33" it is said that God ‘spake unto 
Moses face to face,’ and in verse 20 He declares that no man can see 
His face and live. In the first passage, the expression means to have 
intercourse without the intervention of another; in the second, to 
have a full and familiar sight of the Divine glory. 


3. Figures drawn from historical facts.—It may be 
remarked further, that the Bible often speaks of spiritual 
truth in terms suggested by the facts of Jewish history, or 
by rites of Divine institution. . 


The idea of holiness, e. g., for which, in its Christian sense, the 
heathen have no word, was suggested to the Jews by means of a special 
institution. All animals common to Palestine were divided into 
clean and unclean. From the clean, one was chosen without spot or 
blemish : a peculiar tribe, selected from the other tribes, was appointed 
to present it, the offering being first washed with clean water, and 
the priest himself undergoing a similar ablution. Neither the priest, 
nor any of the people, nor the victim, however, was deemed sufficiently 
holy to come into the Divine presence, but the offering was made 
without the holy place. The idea of the infinite purity of God was 


FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE 219 


thus suggested to the mind of observers ; and holiness, in things created, 
came to mean under the Law, ‘separation for sacred uses, and under 
the gospel, freedom from sin, and the possession, by spiritual intelli- 
gence, of a ‘Divine nature.’ 

The demerit of sin, and the doctrine of an atonement, were taught 
in words taken from equally significant rites. The victim was slain, 
and its blood (which was the life) was sprinkled upon the mercy seat, 
and towards the holy place; and while the people prayed in the 
outer court, they beheld the dark volume of smoke ascending from 
the sacrifice, which was burning on their behalf. How plainly did 
this suggest that God’s justice was a consuming fire, and that the 
souls of the people escaped only through vicarious atonement! The 
ideas thus suggested were intended to continue through all time, and 
we find them often expressed in terms borrowed from these ancient 
institutions. 

Under the Law, again, the priests were clothed in white linen, and 
dressed in splendid apparel. Expressions taken from these customs 
are hence employed to indicate the purity and dignity of the 
redeemed. 


The whole of Jewish history is in fact typical. See 
§ 140. 


4. Old words with new meanings.—It may be remarked, 
again, that many of the expressions of the New Testament 
are employed in senses entirely unknown to the common 
writers of the Greek tongue. 


The New Testament term for humility meant, in classic Greek, mean- 
spiritedness, and though Plato has used the word once or twice to 
indicate a humble spirit, this is confessedly an unusual meaning, 
De Leg. iv. The Greeks had no virtue under that name, and even 
Cicero remarks that meekness is merely a blemish, De Of. 111, 32. 
Grace in the sense of Divine unmerited favour: Justification as an 
evangelical blessing: God asa holy, self-existent, merciful Being: Faith 
as an instrument of holiness, and essential to pardon: all these termns 
are used in Greek, and in all versions of the New Testament, with 
peculiar meaning. To us all, they are old words in a new sense. All 
language exhibits similar changes: ‘miscreant’ meant originally, in 
the language from which it is taken, an unbeliever, then a vicious 
person ; ‘sycophant’ meant fig-shower ; and ‘ sincerity,’ without wax, 
alluding perhaps to the practice of the potter in concealing the 
flaws of his vessels. In Seripture such changes are unusually 
numerous. Happily, however, there need be no misapprehension 





220 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPT 





bbs F 


¥ 


concerning the terms which are thus employed, as Scripture itself has 
defined the ideas they convey, sometimes by a reference to the old 
dispensation, sometimes by a formal or indirect explanation of the 
terms themselves. 


135. Figures as classified by Grammarians.—It may 
aid the reader in interpreting Scripture, to know how the 
various figures which our condition compels us to use in 
speaking of spiritual truth are classed and named by 
grammarians. A knowledge of the names is not essential, 
but a knowledge of the differences on which the classifica- 
tion is founded may often prove so. 


When a word which usage has appropriated to one thing is trans- 
ferred to another, there is a Trove or figure: and the expression is 
tropical or figurative. If, however, the first signification of a word 
is no longer used, the tropical sense becomes the proper one. The 
Hebrew word ‘ to bless,’ for example, meant originally ‘to bend the 
knee’ (see § 132, 3, c), but it is not used in Scripture in that sense, and 
therefore ‘to bless’ is said to be the proper, and not a figurative meaning. 

When there is some resemblance between the two things to which 
a word is applied, the figure is called a MerapHor, as ‘Judah is a lion’s 
whelp,’ Gen 49°; ‘I am the true vine,’ Jn 15}. 

When there is no resemblance, but only a connexion between them, 
the figure is called SynecpocHEe: as when a cup is used for what it 
contains, 1 Cor 1177; or as when a part is put for the whole, ‘my 
flesh ’ for ‘my body’ in Ps 16°, 

When the connexion is not visible, or is formed in the mind, as 
when the cause is put for the effects, or the sign for the thing signified, 
the figure is called Meronymy, as in Jn 135, ‘If I wash thee not, thou 
hast no part with Me,’ where by wash is meant purify or cleanse. 
Sometimes the figure is explained in Scripture itself, as in 1 Pet 3?', 
where baptism is explained as there meaning ‘the appeal’ (see R. V. 
marg.) ‘of a good conscience toward God.’ 


136. All the foregoing figures refer to single words. The 
following refer to several words, as they make a continued 
representation or narrative. 

Allegory.—Any statement of supposed facts which admits 
of a literal interpretation, and yet requires or justly admits 
a moral or figurative one, is called an AtLegory. It is to 
narrative or story what trope is to single words, adding 


FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE 221 


to the literal meaning of the terms employed a moral or 
spiritual one. Sometimes the allegory is pure, that is, 
contains no direct reference to the application of it, as in 
the history of the Prodigal Son. Sometimes it is mized, as 
in Ps 80, where it is plainly intimated (verse 17) that the 
Jews are the people whom the vine is intended to represent. 


Parable.— When the allegory is written in the style of 
History, and is confined to occurrences that may have taken 
place, it is called a ParaBLe. 


Type.—As an Allegory is a double representation in 
words, a Typr is a double representation in action ; the 
literal being intended and planned to represent the spiritual. 


Symbol.—Other outward representations of spiritual 
truths are Sympots. Generally speaking, the Type is pre- 
figurative, the Symbol illustrative of what already exists. 
Baptism is thus an outward and visible sign of an inward 
“and spiritual grace; and the bread we eat in the holy 
Supper, and the wine we drink, are symbolically the body 
and the blood of Christ. See also 1 Ki 11°° 2 Ki 1319 
Jer 277 § 131-7 182-10, Some things, as the Passover, were 
both symbols and types. They commemorated one event, 
and they prefigured another. Language drawn from types 
and symbols is subject to the same rules as ordinary figures 
of speech. 


137. Figurative language explained by the context. 
—lIn order to determine the sense of the figurative language 
of Scripture, the rule of attention to the context, already 
given, must be carefully observed. That a given expression 
is figurative is sometimes stated or implied, the meaning 
being then appended. But sometimes it is necessary to 
look to the general argument or allusions of the passage. 

‘To bear one’s sin’ is a figurative expression, meaning to suffer the 


punishment of it. Hence the synonymous expressions to be cut off, 
and to die, are connected with it, Ex 281% Lev 19°. 





222 THE INTERPRETATION OF S 


In Ho 4'*, and elsewhere (especially in Ezekiel), a spirit of 
lasciviousness is said to have drawn the Israelites astray; but then it 
is immediately added, ‘ They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, 
and burn incense upon the hills,’ to show that it is spiritual unfaith- 
fulness of which the prophet is speaking. 

When Christ said, ‘He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me,” 
Jn 657, the Jews misunderstood His meaning, but He had Himself 
already explained it: for in the same discourse Ile had repeated the 
truth in literal terms, ‘ He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.’ 
This text is understood literally by most Roman Catholie writers, 
though our Lord expressly gave it this figurative interpretation ; and 
the ordinance of the Supper, to which they suppose it to refer, had 
not then been instituted, and was entirely unknown to His hearers. 

In Mt 26°8 Christ calls the wine His blood : and again, in verse 29 
He calls the same cup the fruit of the vine, implying that His first 
expression was figurative. The expression in 1 Cor 3", ‘He himself 
shall be saved, yet so as through fire,’ is the passage in Scripture 
generally quoted in favour of the doctrine of purgatory. Attention to 
the context will show that the whole is figurative. The wood, hay, 
stubble, which man may build on the foundation, are expressions 
confessedly figurative. The foundation itself is figurative, and means 
Christ ; and the expression ‘so as through fire’ must be understood 
in a sense consistent with the general argument of the passage. 

Similar figurative expressions may be seen in 1 Cor 5° Mt 16%!*, 
See also Is 51! Eph 5°*, where the union of Christ and His Church 
(and not marriage) is spoken of as the mystery. - 


138. Laws of Symbolic Language.— Besides such figura- 
tive expressions as are noted above, there are in Scripture 
many symbols taken from the natural world, and appro- 
priated to the expression of spiritual truth. Some of these 
need no special elucidation; they explain themselves. Thus 
it is obvious and appropriate to employ Light to symbolize 
truth, knowledge, happiness ; and Darkness for the reverse. 
Hunger and thirst, again, expressly denote the unsatisfied 
desires of the soul. Innumerable symbols are furnished by 
the animal kingdom. The Lion stands for kingliness, 
strength, ferocity; the Wolf for selfish greed; the Lamb 
for simplicity and meekness ; the Dove for innocence and 
purity ; the Fox for craftiness, and so with the rest. 

Certain symbols, however, spring from special association 


FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: ALLEGORY 223 


and circumstance. Some are Oriental, and point to the 
manners and customs of different peoples ; others are derived 
from history, some are the product of imagination; and 
there are symbols which, according to different points of 
view, have very various and even opposite applications. 
Thus the harvest may denote the reaping of what is ripe 
for judgement, or the ingathering of what refreshes and 
strengthens. Fire, again, may be regarded as destructive or 
as purifying. The leaven may be a diffusive influence for 
blessing or for corruption. It is needful, in these and many 
other instances, to pay regard to the purpose and context of 
the passage. This needs much discrimination, and there is 
no more fertile source of error than that which arises from 
misapplied symbols *. 


139. Allegory.—A Symbol wrought out into details, 
especially where it partakes of a narrative character, passes 
into Attecory. A simple instance is in Gen 49°. The 
symbol of Judah is a ‘lion’s whelp,’ and it is thus allego- 
rized :— 

From the prey, my son, thou art gone up: 


He stooped down, he couched as a lion, 
And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? 


More extended allegories are those of the vineyard Is 5!~’, of the vine 
out of Egypt Ps 80°-1°, of the two eagles and the vine Eze 17°", of the 
lioness and her whelps Eze 19'~*, and several other prophetic pictures in 
the same book; and, in a different form, the very striking series of 
figures respecting husbandry in Is 287°-*°, See also the description of 
old age in Eccl 12?-*, and in the New Testament the account of the 
bread from heaven Jn 67°51, also of the builders and the building, 1 Cor 
git) ~The Book of Revelation, again, is a series of allegories. 

The entire Book of Canticles is regarded by the earlier expositors 


® It may be useful here to note that in theological language the word 
Symbol has also another meaning. Probably from the general idea of 
correspondence or agreement (cvpBadAev, to throw or bring together) 
it comes to denote the Creed; and ‘Symbology’ or ‘Symbolics’ is the 
Science of Creeds. A want of regard to this distinction has occasion- 
ally led to some confusion. 






224 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 
generally, and by many of the moderns, as an extended allegory, 
shadowing forth the spiritual affection between Christ and His Church. 
Such expositors explain the book by reference to other places, where 
the relation between God and His Church is similarly described, 
Ps 45. See Eze 16 and 23 throughout, also Ho 2, 3, where, however, 
we probably have a real occurrence described with spiritual appli- 
cations. 

In Gal 4°%%5 there is a sustained allegorical application of leading 
facts in the history of Abraham and of Israel. 


Interpretation of Allegories.—The great rule of interpre- 
tation is to ascertain the scope of an allegory either by 
reference to the context, or to parallel passages; and to 
seize the main truth which it is intended to set forth, 
interpreting all accessories in harmony with the central 
truth. See further on this rule under the head of PARABLES. 


Some expositors have unwarrantably turned histories into allegories, 
disregarding the distinction between legitimate illustrations arising 
out of the narratives, and a mystical rendering of the whole as fable. 
Or else the literal meaning is conceded and the allegorical superadded. 
According to some early interpreters of Scripture, every passage had 
three senses, literal, ethical, and mystical. Thus the journey of 
Eliezer to Paddan-aram to seek a wife for Isaac contained not only an 
interesting fact in the patriarchal history, with important moral 
lessons founded on the readiness of the maiden to leave a land of 
idolaters to cast in her lot with the Chosen People; but an allegory of 
the Divine Father commissioning His Spirit to go forth into the world 
to win a Bride for His Son, thus forming an expressive parable of 
Redemption. There is, in fact, unlimited scope for fancy, if once the 
principle be admitted, and the only basis of the exposition is found in 
the mind of the expositor. The scheme can yield no inlerpretation, 
properly so called, although possibly some valuable truths may be 
illustrated. 

Such applications, indeed, sometimes vindicate themselves by their 
appositeness. Thus, the history of the Fatt (Gon 3) represents in the 
most vivid way the sources of temptation, with the entrance, the 
progress, and the power of sin. The narrative of Jonan again depicts, 
by way of example, the mission of God’s Israel to the heathen, ineul- 
cated but neglected ; and (to those who lived after the Captivity) the 
consequence of unfaithfulness, in the engulfing of the disobedient 
messenger of God by the terrible Babylonian power, as by some sea- 
monster (see Jer 51°'*), followed by release for the sake of a renewed 


FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: TYPES 225 


mission. Such undoubtedly was one lesson at least of this wonderful 
book, well called ‘the most catholic book in the Old Testament.’ 

It cannot be too clearly borne in mind that the interpretation of an 
allegory is one thing, allegorical interpretation quite another *. 

140. Scripture Types.—The word ‘type’ (Gr. tizos) 
does not océur in the English Scriptures, excepting only 
in the margin (rec.) of rt Cor rol, Literally it means stamp 
or impress; and it is rendered variously, according to the 
context, as ‘figure,’ ‘ pattern,’ ‘ensample.’ It has, in fact, 
the same ambiguity as our word ‘copy’: the imitation made 
or that which is to be imitated. Hence ‘ antitype’ (avrirvrov), 
lit. ‘answering to the type,’ is either the reality or the 
imperfect shadow. In ‘theological language it has been 
appropriated to the former meaning; but in Heb 9” it has 
the latter, while in the only other New Testament instance, 
t Pet 37!, it is ambiguous: baptism is either the reality 
foreshadowed by the Flood, or its cleansing is a symbol of 
that salvation which purifies the heart and conscience. 
The English word ‘type’ in its theological use thus better 
corresponds with oxi, ‘shadow,’ as in Col 217 Heb 8°, rol. 
Tn its customary acceptation it expresses a symbol of that 
which is to come, whether a personage, incident, or institu- 
tion. The following points must be especially noted :— 

1. That which is symbolized—the ‘antitype *—is the 
ideal or spiritual reality, at once corresponding to the type 
and transcending it. 

2. The type may have its own place and meaning, inde- 
pendently of that which it prefigures. Thus the brazen 
serpent brought healing to the Israelites, even apart from 
the greater deliverance which it was to symbolize. 

3. Hence it follows that the type may at the time have 
been unapprehended in its highest character. 

* On r Sa 13}, ‘Saul was a child of one year when he began to reign, 
and he reigned two years over Israel,’ the Douay version thus com- 


ments: ‘That is, he was good, and like an innocent child, and for 
two years continued in that innocency,’ 


) 






“7? 
226 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


4. As with regard to symbols generally, the essence of 
a type must be distinguished from its accessories. 

5. The only secure authority for the application of a type 
is to be found in Scripture. The mere perception of analogy 
will not suffice. Expositors have often imggined corre- 
spondence where none in fact exists, and where, even if it 
did, there is nothing to prove a special Divine intent. So 
to Clement of Rome ‘the scarlet line’ of Rahab (Jos 2"8-*2) 
typified the atonement of Christ. 

In the words of Bishop Marsh: ‘To constitute one thing the type of 
another, as the term is generally understood in reference to Scripture, 
something more is wanted than mere resemblance. The former must 
not only resemble the latter, but must have been designed to resemble | 
the latter. It must have been so designed in its original institution, It 
must have been designed as preparatory to the latter. The type, as 
well as the antitype, must have been preordained, and they must 
have been preordained as constituent parts of the same general scheme 
of Divine Providence. It is this previous design and this preordained 
connexion which constitute the relation of type and antitype *.’ 

Since the beginning of our race, there has accordingly 
been a connected series of representations, each embodying 
some truth, and all tending to illustrate the office and work 
of our Lord, or the character and history of His people. 

Jewish history and worship form one grand type. The 
Old Testament (as Augustine long ago remarked) is the 
New veiled, and the New Testament is the Old unveiled ». 

The ancient Jewish people, for example, sustained to God 
the same relation as is now sustained by the Christian 
Church, and by each Christian. Their sufferings in Egypt, 
their deliverance under Moses, their wanderings in the 
desert, their entry into Canaan, prefigure important facts 
in the history of all Christians. The Israelites not only 
lived under the same authority with us, and were governed 
by an economy of discipline like our own, but the facts of 


® Lectures on the Criticism and Interpretation of the Bible, p. 374. 
» “Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet, Vetus in Novo patet.’ 


| 
| 
| 






FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: TYPES 227 


their history were typical of the history of the Church, 
Ro 278 r Cor 10 Heb 4 1 Pet 2° 1° Rev 15°. 

It is observable, too, that the relation between the Jewish 
people and some of the nations that surrounded them is 
a type of the relation between the Christian Church and its 
adversaries: Sodom and Ishmael, Egypt and Babylon have 


all their representatives in the history of the true Israel, 


Gal 4” Rev 148. 

It may be added, that while in one aspect Israel as the 
Servant of Jehovah is the representative of our Lord, 
individual Israelites were types of Him ; as Moses among 
the prophets, David and. Solomon among the kings; and 
hence expressions which were originally true of the type 
are applied to Christ as the antitype or fulfilment, Acts 13**. 

And as the people, so the rites and worship of the Old 

' Testament were typical. The whole dispensation was the 


| shadow of good things to come, not the very image or sub- 


stance of them. That substance was Christ, Heb rol. 

Rules of Interpretation.—In the interpretation of all 
these types, and of history in its secondary or spiritual] 
allusions, we use the same rules as in interpreting parables 
and allegories properly so called: compare the history or 
type with the general truth, which both the type and the 
antitype embody ; expect agreement in several particulars, 
but not in all; and let the interpretation of each part 
harmonize with the design of the whole, and with the clear 
revelation of Divine doctrine given in other parts of the 
sacred volume. 

Cautions.—In applying these rules, it is important to 


| remember that the inspired writers never destroyed the 


historical sense of Scripture to establish the spiritual; nor 


‘did they find a hidden meaning in the words, but only in 


the facts of each passage ; which meaning is easy, natural, 
and Scriptural; and that they confined themselves to 
| expositions illustrating some truth of practical or spiritual 





ae 









228 THE INTERPRETATION OF SC 


importance, Heb 5" 9°* Indeed, an examination of the 
passages quoted from the Old Testament in the New will 
show that they are adduced exclusively with reference 
either to the personal history and mediatorial office of our 
Lord, to the spiritual character of His kingdom, or to o 
future destiny of His Church. 


141. Parables, and their interpretation.—A Paras -e, 
in the general acceptation of the word (from zapafoA7, *com- 
parison’), denotes a narrative constructed for the sake of 
conveying important truth. Occasionally, the word has 
a wider meaning, partly owing to the fact that the He- 
brew mashal is used both for parable and proverb. So in Mt 
15‘*1° Lu 4° ‘parable’ is used for ‘proverb,’ and in Heb 
g’ 111° for ‘figure’ or ‘type.’ Conversely, in Jn 10° (see 
16*°-**) the word ‘ proverb’ (wapoia) is rendered ‘parable.’ 
There is, in fact, a close connexion between the two. ‘A 
Proverb is often a concentrated Parable’ (Abp. Trench). 

The parable is distinguished from the allegory, in that where the 
latter personifies attributes and qualities themselves (as Faithful, Great- 
heart, Giant Despair), the personages of the former illustrate these in 
their words and conduct. It is different again from the fable, in 
limiting its scope to the human and the possible. Thus, in the Old 
Testament there are two fables, that of the trees choosing a king, 
Judg 9°, and of the thistle and the cedar, 2 Ki 14°. The parables, or 
apologues (as they are sometimes called), are those of the poor man’s 
ewe lamb, 2 Sa 12!, of the two brothers that strove together, 2 Sa 14% 
and of the prisoner that made his escape, 1 Ki 20%”, 












The constant employment of parables in the minist 
of our Lord (Mk 4*) served at once to illuminate H 
teaching by contact with common life and human interes 
to set forth the nature of His kingdom, and to test t 
disposition of His hearers. There were those who seei 
saw not, and hearing did not understand. That is, th 
might be interested in the story, but cared not for 


® The use of Old Testament Scripture in Ro 7'~ Gal 47-*! Heb 7 
is exceptional. 


FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: PARABLES 229 


spiritual truths which it was intended to convey. Or they 
might be convicted and ashamed (Mt 21* Lu 20!%), while 
only aroused to deeper animosity. 


Classification of our Lord’s Parables has been variously made. 
Something with regard to their special intent and application may be 
learned from considering the main design of the Gospel or Gospels in 
which they respectively appear. In the Introductions to the Gospels, 
accordingly (Part II), the parables peculiar to one, or common to 
more, will be found enumerated. 

Neander has classified the parables of our Lord with reference to 
the truths taught in them, and their connexion with His kingdom. 

Parables on the progress of the Kingdom of Christ :— 

1. The sower, Mt 13°-8 Mk 4°-§ Lu 8°-8, 
2. The tares, Mt 1374-*°. 
3. The mustard-seed, Mt 13°15? Mk 48°82 Lu 131419, 
4. The leayen, Mt 13°% Lu 13°21, 
5. The net, Mt. 134748. 
Moral requisites.for entering the Kingdom of Christ :— 
- (a) Anti-pharisaic parables, or negative requisites, 
6. The lost sheep, Mt 18123 Lu 154-8, 
7. The lost piece of money, Lu 158-!°, 
8. The prodigal son, Lu 15'-*?, 
g. The Pharisee and the publican, Lu 18°", 
to. Strife for the first places at feasts, Lu 1471}, 
; (2) Positive requisites, 
11. The two sons, Mt 2128-80, 
12. The hidden treasure, Mt 13%, 
13. The pearl, Mt 134546 
14. The tower and the warring king, Lu 1428-39, 
15. The wedding garment, Mt 22U-14, 
Call to enter the Kingdom of Christ. 
16. The feast, Mt 22!-1* Lu 145-24, 
_ Activity in the Kingdom of Christ. 
17. The vine, Jn 15}-%. 
18, The wicked vine-dressers, Mt 21°3-41 Mk ra!-? Lu 2o%=!6, 
tg. The talents, Mt 2514-°° Lu 19!2-27, 
20. The barren fig-tree, Lu 13%-°. 
21, The labourers, Mt 20!-'*. 
The true spirit of the Kingdom of Christ. 
(1) Forgiveness. 
22, ‘The good Samaritan, Lu 10°37, 
23. The unforgiving servant, Mt 187-84 Lu 741-42, 


230 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


(2) The right use of worldly possessions. 
24. The unjust steward, Lu 16'-”. 
25. The rich man and Lazarus, Lu 16!9-*!, 
(3) The Christian spirit under the name of prudence. 
26. The ten virgins, Mt 25}-5, 
(4) Prayer. 
27. The importunate widow, Lu 18'-*, 
28. The friend on his journey, Lu 115-, 


A more elaborate arrangement is proposed by Bp. Westcott, Intro- 
duction to the Study of the Gospels, Appendix F, which may also be 
consulted. Here the ground of classification is the twofold source 
from which the parables are drawn—the material world and the 
relations of man. Greswell, More simply, divides the parables into 
the prophetic and the moral. But these schemes, useful as an aid to 
memory, and as exhibiting the main scope of the several parables, 
must not be taken as limiting their meaning within hard and fast 
lines. They have liberal, limitless applications, if interpreted with 
both judgement and sympathy. 


The first rule of interpretation is: Ascertain what is 
the scope, either by reference to the context, or to parallel 


passages ; and seize the one truth which the parable is 


intended to set forth, distinguishing it from all the other 
truths which border upon it, and let the parts of the parable 
that are explained be explained in harmony with this one 
truth. 


In the parables, the scope is generally told us in the context; 
sometimes by our Lord Himself (Mt 22"), sometimes by the inspired 
narrator in his own words (Lu 18'). 

Sometimes it is set forth at the commencement of the parable 
(Lu 18° 19") ; sometimes at the close (Mt 25'S Lu 16°) ; sometimes at 
both, as in Mt 18255 Tu 12-2! 

Sometimes we need to turn to a parallel passage; as, for the full 
interpretation of Lu 15*-*, we turn to Mt 18'*-4, 

When from none of these circumstances the scope can be gathered, 
we must then have recourse to the occasion or the subject of the 
parable itself. The meaning of the parables of the Barren Fig-tree 
(Lu 13°-*), and of the Prodigal Son, is gathered in this way. The 
progress of the parables, and the study of the circumstances under 
which they were spoken, will clearly show the design of our Lord in 
uttering them. 






FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: PARABLES 231 


Any interpretation of a parable or allegory that is incon- 
sistent with the great truth, which it is thus seen to involve, 
must be rejected. 


The parable of the Good Samaritan, for example, has been supposed 
to refer to our Lord; the wounded trayeller, to our sinful race; the 
priest and Levite, to the moral and ceremonial law; the inn, to the 
Church, and the two pence to the two sacraments: an interpretation 
entirely inconsistent with our Saviour’s design. It is not enough 
that the truths which we suppose to be contained in the allegories 
and types of Scripture are Scriptural ; they must be evidently shown 
to be involved in the purpose for which each type was instituted, and 
each allegory spoken. 

This remark is applicable to all parts of the parables, and it may 
be reversed. We have the right interpretation when all the main 
circumstances are explained. If any important member of the 
narrative is rendered by our interpretation nugatory, or is paralysed, 
the interpretation is false; and when we have a true interpretation 
of the whole, that interpretation of any part is to be rejected which 
does not conduce to the consistency and force of the whole. In 
interpreting the parable of the Prodigal Son, for example, some 
expositors have descended to details which are quite inconsistent 
with the obvious scope and force of the narrative. The alienation of 
the prodigal from all home affections—his resolution to seek happiness 
where God is not—the fearful change in his position, and his con- 
sciousness of that change—his attempt to repair his broken fortunes 
—his bitter disappointment and want—the resolve to return—the 
father’s love and welcome—the festal rejoicing which his return 
created—the discontent and grudging spirit of the elder brother— 
the father’s noble remonstrance—all illustrate the great truth of the 
passage, that God welcomes the return of the vilest of His children, 
and allareimportant. Todeny, assome have done, that the prodigal’s 
desertion of his home has any reference to man’s apostasy weakens 
the parable : but to teach that the ring is the everlasting love of God, 
or the seal of the Spirit—that the sinner is called the younger son, 
because man as a Sinner is younger than man as righteous—that the 
citizen to whom he went was a legal preacher—that the swine were 
self-righteous persons—that the husks were works of righteousness— 
that the fatted calf was Christ—that the shoes were means of upright 
conversation, the doctrines and precepts of the Scripture—that the 
music which the elder brother heard was the preaching of the gospel 
—is to call off our attention from the great lesson of the parable to 
doctrines which the disciples could not have found in the parable 
itself. By turning the most delicate touches into important Scriptural 





truths, the great design of the whole is obscured, and we learn to 


bring a meaning io the passage, and not out of it; a habit which we 
are likely to employ with more serious mischief in other places. 


While, then, everything that is explained must be ex- 
plained with reference to the general intention, it is an ~ 
important question, how far the details of the parables 
and allegories of Scripture have reference to corresponding 
facts in the application of them. From the inspired inter- 
pretation of parables given us in Scripture, we may gather 
that we are to avoid both the extreme of supposing that 
only the design of the whole should be regarded, and the 
extreme of insisting upon every clause as haying a double 
meaning. 


In the parables of the Sower and of the Tares, for example, which 
our Lord Himself interpreted, the moral application descends to the 
ininutest particulars of the narrative; the birds, and thorns, and 
stony ground have all their meaning; and, as Tholuck has remarked, 
it may be said generally that the similitude is perfect, in proportion 
as it is on all sides rich in applications. Even in these parables, 
however, not all the circumstances are explained. ‘While men slept,’ 
in the parable of the Tares (Mt 13°), and the phrase ‘I cannot dig,’ 
and ‘to beg 1 am ashamed,’ in the parable of the Unjust Steward, have 
neither of them any application in the explanation which our Lord 
Himself gave. 


Second Rule of Interpretation.—Even of doctrines 
consistent with the design of the parable or type, no con- 
clusion must be gathered from any part of either of them 
which is inconsistent with other clear revelations of Divine 
truth. 


If it be attempted to prove from the fact that the rich man in the 
parable prayed to Abraham, that therefore we are to pray to glorified 
saints, we reject the interpretation as inconsistent with the express 
statements of Scripture; or if,from the parable of the Faithful Servants, 
or the Prodigal Son, it be gathered (as by the Pelagians) that God 
pardons us without sacrifice or intercession, on the ground simply of 
our repentance or our prayeus, we reject the interpretation as incon- 
sistent with the whole tenor of the Bible (Jn 8°* Heb 10), Nor can 
we gather from Lu 15’ that the Pharisees were just men who needed 


PARABLE AND PROPHECY 233 


no repentance, nor from verse 29 that the elder brother had never 
transgressed his father’s command; nor from Lu 16° that dishonesty 
is in any good sense true wisdom. It may not again be inferred from 
the parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard (Mt 201%) that those 
who turn to God at the close of life shall have an equal blessedness 
with those who were early called by His grace. On this the parable 
says nothing. Our Lord evidently speaks of His kingdom generally, 
. In which the Jews had the prior call, while the Gentiles were to be 
gathered in as at ‘the eleventh hour.’ 


Third Rule of Interpretation.—It is important that 
parables should not be made the first or sole source of 
Seripture doctrine. Doctrines otherwise proved may be 
further illustrated or confirmed by them, but we are not 
to gather doctrine exclusively or primarily from their repre- 
sentations. 


From the parable of the Unjust Steward some of the early Scrip- 
ture expositors gathered, without reason, the history of the apostasy of 
Satan. He was said to be the chief among the servants of God, and 
being driven from his place of trust, he drew after him the other 
angels, whom he tempted with the promise of lighter tasks and easier 
service. Nor can we conclude, from the parable of the Ten Virgins, 
that because five were wise and five foolish, half of those who make 
a profession of religion will finally be saved and half finally perish. 
In the parable of the Lost Sheep, one in a hundred only went astray ; 
in that of the Lost Piece of Silver, one in ten was lost ; neither cireum- 
stance can be made the foundation of a doctrine. 

Both these rules are a modification, as it will be seen, of the rule 
which bids us interpret according to the general teaching of Scripture, 
and to look to passages that are clear for the meaning of those that 
are abstruse. 


Prophecy and its Interpretation 


142. In an important sense the whole of the Old 
Testament dispensation was prophetic. ‘For all the 
prophets and the law prophesied until John*.’ The word 
that discloses God in the midst of Israel, guiding, chastising, 
forgiving ; the word that urges to the fear and service of 


» Mt 111% 





Jehovah, is a prophetic word, whether it take the form of 
Law, History, Psalm, or Wisdom Literature. Hence the 
title ‘Former Prophets,’ given, as already noticed, to the 
historical books ; they are a speaking forth of the mind and 
will of God in the history of His chosen people. Possibly 
it was within the ‘Schools of the Prophets’ that the earliest 
sacred literature appeared, and there also that the later 
books were compiled. One function of the prophetic gift 
was to produce that record of the history of Redemption 
which lies embedded in the Old Testament as its Divine 
message to the world. 


143. But we are here concerned with Prophecy in its 
narrower sense and in its highest development. There 
appeared throughout the history of Israel a succession of 
teachers and preachers of righteousness, religious re- 
formers, who spake because the ‘ Word of the Lord’ came 
to them. Bound together by no ties of a common order, 
as were the priesthood, separated by long gaps of time, 
_ they yet followed one another in a Divine order, and at the 
divinely appointed time. ‘In many parts and in many 
manners’ God spake in the Prophets, until the time came 
for the perfect revelation in the Son, and the final message 
of the Cross. As Luke has it*: God ‘spake by the mouth 
of His holy prophets, which have been since the world 
began.’ Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha stand 
in this succession. With Joel and Amos begins the series of 
prophets who have left written records of their preaching ; 
and with varied gift and varied message they appear till 
Malachi closes the Old Testament with mingled warning 
and promise. ‘No such names are to be found in the 
history of any other nation, or in the history of all the 
other religions combined, heroes of battles the most sublime 
the world has ever seen’, 


* Lu 17 Ac 37. > C. A. Briggs, Messianic Prophecy, p. 27. 


PROPHECY: ITS NATURE 235 


Definitions.—The Greek word prophet (zpodyrys) means 
one who speaks forth a message. It represents in Scripture 
a Hebrew word nabhi (8°22), which also means speaker, or 
rather, spokesman, one who speaks for another. The prophet 
was, essentially, a speaker for God. 

In common acceptation the element pro- (mpd) in this word has taken 
on its other meaning of before: to prophesy is interpreted as to predict. 
It has already been seen (§ 72) that prediction is an important aspect 
of the prophet’s message. But it is no part of the meaning of the 
word, either in Greek or Hebrew. The prophet is not characteristic- 
ally one who foretells the future : he forthtells the Divine word. His 


task is to interpret the present, under guidance of the Spirit of God 
which possesses him. He hears and speaks : that is all his function. 


144. Nature of the Prophetic Gift.—It follows from 
this that the prophetic gift is twofold: Inspiration (com- 
prising both insight and foresight), and Utterance. The 
key, therefore, to the interpretation of prophecy is to 
regard the prophet primarily as a preacher of righteous- 
ness. ‘The prophets are before all things impassioned seers 
of spiritual truth and preachers of religion®.’ The books 
of the Prophets are collections of sermons, preached as 
opportunity offered. Especially at some crisis in the nation’s 
history, when men were readier to discern and to obey, the 
prophet stood forth as the spokesman of God to his country- 
men. Incidentally he was often a religious reformer, defying 
kings and princes, shaping the destinies of the nation by 
a statesmanship in which he dared to make the fear of God 
the supreme factor. But always the ethical interest was 
first. To him law and policy, whether for individual or 
state, were summed up in the one word Righteousness, the 
ultimate requirement of ‘the Holy One of Israel.’ 


145. Prophecy as Historical.— Hence the prophets 
were men of their time. It is true that they were also above 
their time in natural endowment and moral enthusiasm, 


* Sanday, Inspiration, p. 144. 





236 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


4 


and were, indeed, for all time, in virtue of the Eternal 
Spirit Who spoke through them. But a preacher speaks 
first to his own generation; his text and its application 
have their proper setting in contemporary life, however 
pertinent they may prove to a remote posterity. This is 
obviously the case as regards the prophets who appear in 
the historical books, Samuel, Elijah and Elisha, Nathan 
and Gad. To a large extent the prophecies of Jeremiah 
are interwoven with the history: so are some of those of 
Isaiah. Often the connexion is more difficult to trace, but 
the conviction that it exists will yield the first and most 
fruitful principle of Interpretation of Prophecy *. 


From this feature of prophecy it follows that it is of vital importance 
to understand the history and circumstances of the writer. The 
student of prophecy must ascertain the exact position of the prophet 
in relation both (1) to his age, and (2) to his predictions. (1) Each 
prophet was a messenger to his own times. From the circumstances 
of his country he borrowed his imagery, and to the moral and physical 
condition of his country as existing or as foreseen he adapted his 
message. If he describes immediate good, the future is the completion 
of the good he describes. Even when that future is distant it is ever 
linked with the present by phrases level to the capacity, and adapted 
to the wants of the age. (2) Further, his standpoint in relation to his 
own predictions must be noted. Let the student take his place, if 
possible, by the prophet’s side, and look with him on the past and on 
the future. A more vivid illustration and a deeper comprehension 
will thus be gained. 

To understand Isaiah, for example, read repeatedly 2 Ki 14-21, 
2Ch 16-22. Mark also the connexion and, if possible, the centre of 
each prediction. In studying the last six chapters of Zechariah 
first of all consider the important question whether they proceeded 
from that prophet, or if not, to what generation they belonged. See 
Introductions to the Prophetical Books in Part IL 


* The lack of consecutive order in the writings of the greater 
prophets, as these have come down to us, much obseures the connexion 
of some of their sermons with the occasion of them in contemporaneous 
history. One of the chief debts we owe to modern study of the Old 
Testament is the re-editing of the prophetical books in their historical 
sequence and setting. Dr.George Adam Smith's Isaiah and The Book of 
the Twelve Prophets are notable examples. 


PROPHECY AS PREDICTION 237 


146. Prophecy as typical and predictive.—If it is 
needful for the interpretation of any prophecy to recover 
its historical setting, it is no less needful to recognize that 
its meaning is not thus exhausted. It has been pointed 
out that the most characteristic element of Old Testament 

‘prophecy is the Messianic hope (§ 73). This is true, indeed, 
of Jaw and history as well as of prophetical writings. It 
all looks forward. Such partial fulfilments as may be 
traced in Jewish history leave unexplained and unexhausted 
types and predictions on which the prophet lavishes all 
the wealth of an inspired imagination. Much that stands 
written was dark until Christ came; much still waits its 
interpretation in the future glories of His kingdom. It is 
this excess of prophecy over historical fulfilment, both in 
regard to fact and to language, that constitutes its dowble 
sense or its twofold application. ‘The Old Testament is one 
vast prophecy.... The application of prophetic words in 
each case has regard to the ideal indicated by them, and 
is not limited by the historical fact with which they are 
connected. But the history is not set aside. The history 
forces the reader to look beyond*.’ It is on this principle 
that the New Testament writers make such free and varied 
use of Old Testament scripture in reference to Christ (see 
§152sq., ‘Quotations of the Old Testament in the New’). ‘The 
words had a perfect meaning when they were first used. 
This meaning is at once the germ and the vehicle of the 
later and fuller meaning. As we determine the relations, 
intellectual, social, spiritual, between the time of the pro. 
phecy and our own time, we have the key to its present 
interpretation. In Christ we have the ideal fulfilment >.’ 


Primary and ultimate reference in Prophecy.—The 
bearing of this general principle on the interpretation of 
prophecy is twofold. (1) Its direct and primary reference 


* Bishop Westcott, Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 69. b Tbid. 


238 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


finds expression in language suitable to its wider application. 
On the other hand, (2) its ultimate meaning is conveyed 
under the limitations of language adapted to its primary 
reference, 


Illustration may be given of both points. See also § 157. 


(1) ‘Prophecy continually applies to one object by anticipation and 
partially, and to another completely; the earlier object being the 
representative of the later. In the promises to Abraham (Gen 15, &c.), 
in the prediction of Jacob concerning Judah (Gen 49), of Balaam 
(Num 2417), of Nathan (2 Sa 7!*"!7), and of David in some of the 
Psalms, in many parts of Isaiah and other prophets, there is this 
double reference. As the history of the Jews foreshadows the history 
of the Christian Church, so does prophecy the* experience of both. 
Not all parts of prophecy are thus applicable, nor, judging from 
examples given in the New Testament, are any parts thus applicable 


to be applied indiscriminately. In fact, the double application is. 


restricted to similar events under two different and remote economies, 
and is never extended to two different events under the same economy. 
Prophecies on the restoration from Babylon (Jer 31 Is 52), on the 
setting up of the tabernacle of David (Am g), and on his kingdom 
(2 Sa 7), had all, to a certain extent, an immediate fulfilment, and are 
yet applied in the New Testament to the gospel dispensation. 

(2) ‘And now we see why the language of the prophets, as applied to 
those nearer events which occupy, so to speak, the foreground in 
their vision, must be hyperbolical. Beginning with those near events, 
beginning amidst all familiar objects and images, Israel, Jerusalem, 
the Law, the Temple, Babylon, Egypt, Edom, or Tyre, defeat and 
victory, captivity and deliverance, famine and plenty, desolation 
and prosperity, other and higher hopes possess their minds almost 
immediately, distinct in their greatness, undiscerned in their parti- 
cular forms. Thus into the human framework there is infused a 
Divine spirit, far too vast for that which contains it. The names are 
the same, but the meaning is different; and thus there arises 
a necessary inequality between the prophecy and its historical fulfil- 
ment, which, if we do not understand how it has arisen, must be 
a source of extreme perplexity. And some, finding that the historical 
fulfilment has as yet borne no proportion to the greatness of the 
prophecy, look for another fulfilment with the same forms as the 
former, which shall accomplish what is yet wanting. Thus, because 
the restoration of the Jews from Babylon no way answered to the 
greatness of the prophetic picture which announced it, there are some 
who look for another historical restoration, which shall place the 





PROPHECY: ITS APPLICATIONS 239 


Jewish nation in Canaan under all those forms of happiness described 
by the prophets ; that is, in the enjoyment of plenty, of peace, and of 
dominion. But the greatness of the prophecy never really belonged 
to the historical forms with which it was connected, and can find its 
answer only in that which indeed was the original subject which 
ealled it forth, the triumph of perfect good, or, in other words the 
glory of Christ and of His kingdom.’—Dr. Arnotp of Rughy, Sermons 
on the Interpretation of Prophecy, 1844 (Note 6). 


Inexhaustible Meanings.—It follows from this double 
sense that, as in the first fulfilment there is a limit to the 
blessing foretold, so, in the second, there is a fullness of 
meaning which it seems impossible to exhaust. To David, 
for example, the promise was partly conditional, partly 
absolute. As conditional, it cannot be applied to Christ, 
and as absolute, it cannot be applied in its fullest literal 
meaning to David. ‘I will stablish the throne of his 
- kingdom for ever. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten 
him with the rod of men... but My mercy shall not 
depart away from him, as I took it from Saul,’ 2 Sa 7°~}, 
The condition is twice repeated (rt Ki 2* 9+), and the 
promise that David’s seed should occupy the throne for 
ever had of course, in a literal sense, but a limited fulfil- 
ment. ‘For ever’ may mean till the end of the kingdom, or 
till the end of the polity ; the phrase implying perpetuity 
of duration throughout the period or system of things to 
which reference is understood to be made. In fact, David’s 
family occupied the throne till the end of the kingdom, 
holding it through twenty descendants for upwards of 400 
years ; while, in the brief duration of the northern kingdom 
(254 years), there were nineteen kings, of nine different 
families. There was, therefore, a literal fulfilment of the 
promise, but clearly a fulfilment less glorious than when 
applied to the Messiah. In truth, prophecy borrowed from 
previous types is as unequal to describe His kingdom as is 
narrative, founded on ritual institutions, to describe His 
office. We call Him Prophet and Priest, our Sacrifice and 


240 THE INTERPRETATION OF 


Intercessor ; but no one of the institutions whence these 
names are taken, nor all combined, can speak His glory or 
tell His worth. 


Imagery and Symbol.—Seeing that the future was thus 
represented in visions, and under a typical dispensation, it 
can excite no surprise that the whole is often described in 
figurative and allegorical or symbolical terms, As every- 
thing earthly supplies images for describing things spiritual, 
so does the whole of the Jewish economy. Language 
borrowed from nature and from the Law is therefore 
appropriate alike. The unity and vastness of God’s plans 
are illustrated by it all. 


Under the gospel, for example, Messiah is to be King, and hence the 
prophets represent Him as possessed of all the characteristics of the 
most distinguished princes of the Jewish theocracy, and more than 
once apply to Him the title of David, who was, in many respects, the 
ideal of kingly authority, Ho 3° Jer 30° Ac 13%. They describe His 
character as Prophet or Priest in the same strain, multiplying images 
in each case adapted to give the most exalted ideas of His office, Ps 110 
Zec 6 Heb 7. In the same way, they speak of His kingdom, either of 
grace or glory, as the highest perfection of the Jewish economy. It 
is called Jerusalem, or Zion, Is 62%7 60'5-*0 Gal 426-8 Heb 12°. See 
also Is 60"7 6675, To Joel, the outpouring of the Spirit appears as 
a general extension of the three forms of Divine revelation which 
occur in the Old Testament. The idea that all nations should worship 
the true God is expressed by the declaration that they will join in the 
Feast of Tabernacles, Zee 14°. The glory of the Messiah’s days 1s 
represented by the prosperous times of David and Solomon, Zee 3" 
(compare 1 Ki 4°°); the prevalence of peace, by the union of Judah 
and Israel, Ho 14 Is 111°. In the same way, the enemies of the kingdom 
of the Messiah are not only called by the names given to the enemies 
of the ancient theocracy, viz. the nations of the Gentiles, but they 
often bear the name of some one people who, at the time, were 
peculiarly inimical or powerful. In Is 25 they are called by the name 
of Moab, in Is 63 and Am 9" by the name of Edom, and in Eze 38 by 
the name of Magog. There are, of course, specific prophecies concern- 
ing most of these nations and cities, but their names are also used 
generically, or figuratively, in these and other passages. Hence is 
foretold the restoration, in the latter days, of Moab and Elam, Jer 48*7 





PROPHECY: ITS GENERAL SCHEME 241 


49°. Hence, also, the ‘blessing to the earth’ is to proceed in ‘ that 
day’ from Israel, Assyria, and Egypt, Is 19!*-*, 

The Scheme of Prophecy.—Nor need this peculiarity 
of prophetic language excite surprise. It is found pervading 
the whole ancient dispensation. That dispensation began 
with the promise to Abraham. His descendants were to be 
as the stars, and in him and his seed all nations were to be 
blessed. The first part of this prediction was fulfilled in 
his literal seed, as Moses implies, Ex 32! Dt 12-11, Paul 
also applies it to his spiritual seed, even to all who believe, 
Ro 416 Gal 3°. The blessing upon all nations, the second 
part of the promise, is also upon all as believers, and is 
received through Christ, Who is the seed according to the 
flesh, Gal 3136-19-29, 

The next remarkable fact in the history of the Jews is 
their deliverance from Egypt; and in connexion with that 
deliverance the most remarkable expressions are used to 
indicate the favour which God bore them. All of these 
expressions, however, are in the New Testament applied 
to the Church. God is said to have chosen them, Dt 10! 
Eze 20° Eph 1% He delivered and saved them, Ex 3° 142° 
Gal 1* 1 Thi 2Tim1; He created and called them, 
Is 43! 447 1 Cor 1° Col 31°. Both are sons, helpless, and 
dear, Eze 16° Is 447 Dt 32° Gal 37° 1 Pet 1°; both are 
brethren, Dt 11° Col 17; a house, a family, Num 127 Heb 3°; 
a nation, Dt 4°* 1 Pet 29; both fellow-citizens, with aliens 
around them, Ex 20!" Eph 2!%; and both heirs of. their 
appropriate inheritance, Num 26% Heb 9. Compare in 
the same way the application of the following words under 
the two dispensations: ‘Servants’; ‘husband’ and ‘ wife,’ 
‘mother’ and ‘children’; ‘adultery’; ‘sanctuary’ or 
‘temple’; ‘priests’; ‘saints’ or ‘holy’; ‘near’ or ‘nigh,’ 
and ‘afar off’; ‘congregation’ or ‘church’; ‘vine,’ ‘ vine- 
yard’; ‘shepherd,’ ‘flock’; ‘inheritance’ or ‘heritage’; the 
privileges and duties which these terms imply; and it 

R 





Ly 

.s 
242. THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 
will be found that nearly all the characteristic names of 
Israel are applied to the body of believers. In the first 
case, the blessings and relations, so far as the people were 
concerned, are earthly and temporal ; in the second, spiritual 
and eternal : individual spiritual blessings being enjoyed in 
both. 

The Apostles reason throughout their writings on the 
same principle. We who believe, and are united to Christ, 
are children of Abraham and heirs of his promise, Gal 3”° 
Ro 411-15; the Israel of God, Gal 61°, as distinguished from 
the Israel according to the flesh, 1 Cor 1o!®; the true cir- 
cumcision, Phil 3°, who therefore appropriate ancient 
promises (Gen 22'°-'7 applied to all believers ; Heb 61*-2° 
Dt 31° Jos 1° quoted Heb 13°; Ho 17 2° quoted 
Rog" *6), ; 


The Levitical Law.— After the exodus comes the 
institution of the ritual law—its sacrifices, priesthood, 
merey-seat, tabernacle and temple, and worship. All these, 
it need hardly be remarked, are represented in the Prophets 
as being restored in the latter days, and in the Gospels each 
expression is applied to our Lord or to His Chureh. He is 
priest and propitiatory (iAaorypiov, Ro 3”), tabernacle (oxyv7. 
Jn x4), and temple (vads, Jn 2"); as also, since His as- 
cension, is His Church, 1 Cor 3)% Her members offer 
spiritual offerings. They form a royal priesthood, a holy 
nation. 


A Prophetic Chain.—The next prophetic era begins with 
Samucl. His chief office was to prepare for the establish- 
ment of kingly authority. He was commissioned, moreover, 
to give ‘o David an assurance that his seed should sit upon 
his throne for ever, i. e. literally, till the end of the kingdom, 
cr, spiritually, in the person of his greater Son, till all 
things should be put under His feet. Of this enlarged 
meaning Samuel says nothing, nor does Nathan; but David, 


PROPHECY: ITS CHARACTER 243 


himself a prophet, clearly understands it, applies it in part 
to himself, 1 Ki 2*, but passes on the fullness of the promise 
to his Lord, Ps 2, 72, 110. All these psalms are applied, in 
the New Testament, to the kingdom which Christ com- 
menced when He appeared on earth, Heb 1°, or rose from 
the dead, Ro 1*. 

This prophetic era is closed with the predictions of Amos, 
Hosea, Isaiah, and the later prophets. The great theme of 
their predictions is the restoration of the Jews, and the 
re-establishment of that dispensation which seemed hasten- 
ing, without hope of remedy, to decay; and under a twofold 
form this theme is presented. The prophets who preceded 
the Captivity, and those who lived in it, foretell a restoration, 
and borrow from it phrases to describe the establishment of 
anew kingdom. Haggai and Zechariah foretell the rebuild- 
ing of a temple, and under that figure speak of the Church. 
After the Temple was finished, Jewish worship became selfish 
and insincere. Malachi therefore foretells the coming of 
one who shall purify the sons of Levi, and secure from all 
a spiritual offering. 

In a word, the prophets describe the Church in terms 
borrowed from successive stages in the history of the 
ancient economy. Whether, because Old Testament pro- 
phecy is expressed in terms founded on that economy, it 
has therefore no further or more literal fulfilment, is another 
question. In the meantime, mark the fact from which that 
question arises. The fact is itself of great importance in 
explaining both the gospel and the Law. 


147. Prophecy as Hebrew Poetry.—It must further 
be remembered that the language of prophecy is, in the 
main, the language of poetry. 

Much that is contained in preceding sections regard- 
ing symbol and allegory has its chief exemplification in 
prophetical Scripture. Visions vouchsafed on special occa- 

R 2 





244 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


sions have their obvious meaning: as of the live coal 
placed upon Isaiah’s lips, Is. 6; of the almond-tree and 
boiling cauldron seen by Jeremiah, ch. 1''~!*, and the series 
of visions recorded in the first part of Zechariah, ch. 1-6. 
All these will bear attentive study. The symbolical actions 
enjoined upon the prophets were often performed in vision 
only. See Jer 13!~1° 25)5 27°85 Eze 3% 44-®, Others no 
doubt were literally carried out, as a sign to the people, 
Eze 41~* and 5!~4, Zee 6". Such acted prophecies carried 
with them their own interpretation. 

The student must therefore familiarize himself with the 
language of propheey—its figures and symbols. In these, 
prophecy is more rich than common history. Its poetic 
style makes its usage in this respect both necessary and 
appropriate. The meaning of these figures is pretty nearly 
fixed: and though perhaps not clear to those who first used 
them, to us, with the completed Bible in our hands, they 
ought to be familiar, 

Compare, for example, the following passages :— 


Descriptions of afflictions and distress, Ps 427 Is 13" 20° 344 Jer 4*°-*° 
Eze gaié 380 Joel 10.30.31 Am 88-9, 

Interpositions of Divine providence and grace in delivery from 
dangers, Ps 187-!7 Nah 14° Hab 35-" Zee 14. 

The joy of deliverance, Is 35!~7 55'*!8 60'° 65°5 Joel 438. 


A notable instance in which this symbolic and imaginative 
aspect of prophetic diction needs to be taken into full ac- 
count is our Lord’s discourse to the disciples in Mt 24 
Mk 13 Lu 21. The facts which He predicts, the truths 
He declares, must be distinguished from the symbolic 
language in which they are conveyed. To expect literal 
and detailed fulfilment of such signs of His coming as are 
depicted in Mk 13*4~27 would be to confound poetry with 
prose, vision with sober history. A comparison of the 
passage with the judgements declared by Isaiah against 


OB i 


PROPHECY: ITS CHARACTER 245 


Babylon and Edom, and by Micah against Samaria and 
Jerusalem, will make this clear ®. 


148. Specialities of Prophetic Language.—In regard 
to the language of prophecy, especially in its bearing upon 
the future, the following points should also be noted :— 

1. The prophets often speak of things that belong to the 
future as if present to their view. 

Thus in Is 9° it is said, ‘ Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is 
given.’ 

2. They speak of things future as past. 


In Is 53, for example, nearly the whole of the transactions of the 
life of the ‘ Servant of Jehovah’ are represented as finished. 


3. When the precise time of individual events was not 
revealed, the prophets describe them as continuous. They 
saw the future rather in space than in time; the whole, 
therefore, appears foreshortened ; and perspective, rather 
than actual distance, is regarded. They seem often to speak 
of future things as a common observer would describe the 
stars, grouping them as they appear, and not according to 
their true positions. 

In Jer 504! 44, for example, the first conquest and the complete de- 
struction of Babylon are connected, without any notice of the interval 
between them ; in fact, nearly a thousand years elapsed between the 
first shock to the empire in the attack of the Persians, and the final 
overthrow of the city. 

In Is to, 11, the deliverance of the Jews from the yoke of the 
Assyrians is connected with the deliverance which was to be effected 
by the Messiah. 

In the same way, Isaiah, Micah, Hosea, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, all 
connected these two events, without intimating, however, that the 
Messiah was to take part in both. 

In the description which is given of the humiliation and glory of 
the Messiah, there is seldom any notice taken of the time which is to 
elapse before His kingdom is established. Both are often connected, 
as in Zee g*1° Joel 278 su4- 


* Is 1g°-}5 345 Mic 154, 





246 ‘THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE sl 


149. Great Principle of Interpretation. —It is a 
golden rule, that as prophecy is not of ‘ private’ (or capri- 
cious) ‘interpretation,’ 2 Pet 17°-?!, each of the predictions 
of Scripture must be compared with others on the same 
topic, and with history, both profane and inspired. Parallel 
predictions will often throw light upon one another, and 
recorded fulfilments will explain predictions or parts of 
predictions still unfulfilled. History and the New Testa- 
ment will thus often fix the meaning of individual passages, 
and these will illuminate and explain their respective con- 
nexions, 

Compare in this way the parallel predictions on Babylon, 
Tyre, Egypt, Ammon, Nineveh, Edom, and Moab. 

Fulfilments recorded in the New Testament may be seen in the 
sections on the Quotations of the Old Testament in the New, § 152 sq. 

150. New Testament Applications.—These principles 
of prophetic interpretation are sanctioned by the New Testa- 
ment. We there have the meaning of the Old divinely 
declared ; and while the sense of particular passages is 
fixed, principles of interpretation are suggested applicable 
to all. 

Instead of pointing out these principles at length, we 
may again notice one which is suggested in almost every 
chapter of the later Revelation *. 

The great end and theme of prophecy is Curist; either 
in His person and office, or in the establishment of His 
kingdom. Under this twofold division most of the Old 
Testament predictions may be ranged: some of them are 
already fulfilled, others are in course of fulfilment, and 
others, again, are to be fulfilled at some future day. 


In Paradise, prophecy gave the first promise of a Redeemer. In 
Abraham, it connected the covenants of Canaan and of the gospel. 


* For an illuminating exposition of the principles on which Old 
‘Testament Scripture is applied in a book of the New Testament, see 
Westcott, Hebrews, pp. 469-495. 


PROPHECY AND ITS INTERPRETATION 247 


In the Law, it spoke of the second prophet, and foreshadowed in types 
the doctrines of Christianity. To David, it revealed the kingdom of 
his greater Son. In the days of the later prophets, it presignified the 
changes of the Judaic economy ; uttered judgements upon the chief 
pagan kingdoms, and completed the announcement of the Messiah. 
After the Captivity, it gave clearer information still of the advent of 
the gospel. In the days of our Lord, it spoke in parables and direct 
predictions; and at last, in dark symbolical language, foretold the 
history and final glory of His reign. ‘The testimony of Jesus’ is indeed 
‘the spirit of prophecy,’ Jn 5° Ac 31824 1043 Ro 12 371-22 Rev 1929, 


This fact is of the greatest importance. It proves the 
general scope of ancient predictions, and limits them. It 
teaches us to seek Christ everywhere, under both dispensa- 
tions, and it makes plain the general meaning of these 
predictions themselves. 


151. Varying Interpretations of Expositors.—A cer- 
tain difference of view between expounders of prophecy 
may, in conclusion, be briefly referred to. Many are content 
to rest in these general interpretations without seeking for 
literal and particular fulfilments. Giving great weight to 
the facts that the Jews were types, that the distinction 
between Jew and Gentile is formally abolished, and that 
our dispensation is spiritual ; thinking, moreover, that the 
descriptions in prophecy, if taken literally, would lead to 
a belief in the restoration of Judaism, and in the introduc- 
tion of a system adapted to the infancy rather than the 
maturity of the Church ; finding that these descriptions, so 
far as the re-establishment of the Jews is concerned, are not 
repeated in the New Testament, and that many prophecies 
which seem to apply to them as a nation are referred in 
the New Testament to the Church, or to the conversion of 
the Jews, Ac 2!7~21 Ro 117°; they ceonclude that a spiritual 
interpretation of the whole series is most consistent with 
the tenor of Scripture. 

Another class of biblical students go further. Much of 
this reasoning they admit to be true; deeming it, however, 





248 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIP 


not all the truth. Finding that predictions even of spiritual — 
blessing have had for the most part a literal accomplishment ; 
that the Jews are spoken of under both dispensations as still 
beloved for their fathers’ sakes ; that many prophecies (those, 
for example, which speak of Israel and Judah in terms 
either inapplicable to the first return, or written after it, 
Is 11!* Ho 3° Zec 14) remain unfulfilled ; that the language 
of these prophecies, though often applicable in a general 
sense to the Christian Church, cannot be confined to it 
without doing violence to the commonest rules of speech ; 
that in the New Testament prophecies having undoubtedly 
an early fulfilment in Jewish history, or in the Christian 
Church (as Is 13°-!° 25° Hag 2°), seem referred to as having 
fulfilments still future (Mt 24%? 1 Cor 15° Heb 127°); they. 
maintain that, besides a first accomplishment of many 
predictions in the history of the Jews, and the spiritual 
accomplishment of others under the gospel, many remain 
to be fulfilled in a literal and more extended sense. They 
hold therefore, throughout, the principle of literal interpre- 
tation, whether the predictions refer to the restoration of 
the Jews—to the second, i.e. the pre-millenial advent of 
Christ, or to the establishment of His reign. 

Between these two methods of interpretation the prin- 
ciples laid down in the foregoing discussion must decide. 
It may at least be safely asserted that, concerning the precise 
times foretold in the Scripture, it is clearly not God’s in- 
tention to give us exact knowledge. These are put in His 
own power. The prophecy sustains our hope, and elevates 
our feelings. It assures us of the final issue, and lays down 
certain prognostics highly useful for a moral and spiritual 
discernment of the Divine purpose, without the indulgence 
of an unhallowed curiosity. Even in prophecies which have 
been fulfilled, the dates are often difficult of adjustment ; 
a fact that should suggest humility and modesty in inter- 
preting prophecies whose fulfilment is yet to come, 


QUOTATIONS OF OLD TESTAMENT IN NEW 249 


Quotations of the Old Testament in the New. 


152. Value of the Study.—The quotations made in 
the New Testament from the Old form a subject of much 
interest. They explain ancient types, history, and predic- 
tions. They exemplify sound principles of imterpretation, 
and show in various ways the connexion between the Old 
and New Testaments. 

These quotations may be studied for a double purpose— 
either to ascertain the verbal variations between the Old 
Testament and the New, and the lessons taught thereby, or to 
determine the spiritual truths and principles of interpreta- 
tion which these quotations involve. To this twofold 
division we shall adhere in the following remarks. 


Number of quotations.—These quotations are very nu- 
_ merous, having been reckoned to amount to 263; references 
less direct being in number 376, or together, 639. These 
numbers are slightly varied by some expositors, the less 
obvious references being either added or omitted. But 
according to the above estimate, there are in— 



































Quota-|Refer- Quota-} Refer- Quota-| Refer- 
tions. | ences. tions. | ences. tions. | ences. 
Mt . 37 43 Gal 9 5 Jasewwe 5 10 
Mk. 17 10 Eph 4 3 1 Petes 10 9 
in 19 3I Phil — 2 2Pet . I 9 
im: 15 19 || Col — 2 1 Jn — 4 
PAG. Bilt 21 abies — 2 Ju — 4 
RO, 52 15 en i 4 Rey I IIS 
1 Cor 18 17 2Tim . I I 
2 Cor 9 6 Heb 33 44 





Quotations from the Pentateuch amount to go, and refer- 
ences to it to upwards of 100; from the Psalms 71, references 
30; from Isaiah 56, references 48; from the Minor Pro- 
phets about 30°. 


® Tn some editions, both of the Greek and English New Testament, 







250 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE __ 


The formulas of quotations are most generally ‘ that it 
might be fulfilled’; ‘it is (or has been) written*’; ‘the 
Scripture saith,’ with similar expressions. The first of 
these forms is most frequently used by Matthew, also by 
John and Paul; the second is employed in the Gospels, 
Acts, and Paul’s Epistles; never in the Epistle to the 
Hebrews. This second also is the principal form of citation 
in the Old Testament, by the later writers from the earlier. 


Quotations analysed.— Quotations have been classified 
as prophetic, demonstrative, explanatory, or illustrative: 
prophetic, including those that refer to Christ and the gospel, 
(1) immediately, as Mt 411°, or (2) typically; i. e. they in- 
dicate primarily some typical event or person, and then 
some other event or person under the gospel, as Jn 19°: 
. demonstrative, proving some statement, as Jn 6% : explanatory, 
explaining some statement or fact, as Heb 12°°; and ilus- 
trative, when expressions are taken from the Old Testament 
with a new meaning, as Ro 1o'*. Some, of course, are both 
demonstrative and explanatory, i.e. they explain, and prove 
by examples, some general truth, as Gal 34. Prophetic 
quotations referring to our Lord, or His Church, amount 
to about 120, These have already been discussed in the 
section on the Interpretation of Prophecy, § 146. 


153. Sources of quotations. The Septuagint.—The 
quotations are generally made from the LXX; sometimes 
from the Hebrew, varying more or less from the LXX ; 
and still more frequently they express the general sense 
without verbal exactness. Sometimes they are strict and 
verbal ; sometimes widely paraphrastic or greatly abbreviated. 
They are usually quotations from memory; as shown, 


the citations are usefully designated by a difference of type. See 
especially the Greek Testament edited by Westcott and Hort. 

* Téypanra. Luther's German Bible happily expresses the force of 
the perfect tense by the phrase stelet geschrieben, it ‘stands written.’ 


LANGUAGE OF THE QUOTATIONS 251 


among other indications, by the varying uses of the Divine 
names, ‘God’ and ‘ Lord’ (Jehovah). 

For paraphrastic or abbreviated quotations, see Mt 13°5 (Ps 78?) 
Mt 22” (Dt 25°) Ro 9” (Ho 275) Ro 108-8 (Dt 301218) x Cor 181 (Jer 9%), 
&c. The omission by the tempter (Mt 4° Lu 4?) of the words ‘in all 
thy ways,’ Ps 91", is perhaps significant. 

_ Quotations are sometimes combined, Mk 17° (Mal 3! Is 403) Ro 11° 
(Is 29” Dt 29%) 2 Cor 6'618 (Ley 261! Is 521 Jer 311). See especially 
Ro 310-18, 


Language of the Quotations. 


Looking to the phraseology of these quotations, it may 
be observed : 

1. To a certain extent they may be applied to correct the 
text of the Septuagint. This rule, however, is not of ex- 
tensive application, from the fact that the citations are not 
- in general verbal, and that sometimes they are independent 
renderings from the Hebrew. 

2. Occasionally the quotations in the New Testament are 
useful in the criticism of the Hebrew text of the Old. 

In Hab 1°, for example, for ‘among the heathen,’ read 
“ye despisers,’ as in Ac 13*!; the LXX translators having 
evidently read not 0%32 Baggoyim, but 0°\2 Bozim. So Is 29 
and Mt 158 (not ‘4, shall be, but 7, vanity); Gen 47%! 
and Heb 117! (the Hebrew words for staff and bed differing 
only in the vowel-points: see § 25); Am 9-7 and Ac 15" 
(Edom and man being the same word differently pointed); Ps 
16!° (‘holy ones’ in the K’thibh, although the Massorites give 
the singular) and Ac 27"; Ho 13 and 1 Cor 15°° (J will be 
and Where? being almost alike in Hebrew, excepting in the 
vowels). In Ho 14” the word for calves differs only in a single 
letter from fruit (Heb 13"). Or perhaps ‘calves’ may be 
a metonym for ‘ sacrifice.’ 

After all these corrections have been made, however, a 
large number of passages remain which do not agree with 
_ the exact words either of the LXX, or of the Hebrew. 


252 THE INTERPRETATION OF 


About one-half of the quotations, in fact, give rather the 
sense than the words. See Ro 15! (Is 11%) 1 Cor 1” 
(Jer 9*4) t Cor 2° (Is 64‘). Sometimes, on the other hand, 
the whole argument is made to turn on the very terms 
employed, as in Heb 3’~! (Ps 95‘~1') Gal 3 (Gen 22!) 1 Cor 
15*° (Gen 2°). 

154. Use of the Hebrew original.—In particular pas- 
sages the New Testament writers translate directly from 
the Hebrew. 

Matthew, for example, while generally using the LXX, 
in passages which refer to the Messiah pays special attention 
to the original, which he closely follows. 


Variations. 


While most of the variations between the New Testa- 
ment and the Old are explained on the principle that it is 
rather the sense than the words that are quoted, there is 
sometimes an obyious purpose in the variation. 


To fit a quotation to the context, the number, or the person, or the 
tense, or the voice, is changed, Lu 4? (Dt 61*) Lu 8" (Is 6") Jn 19 
(Ex 12‘), 

To suit the argument, or to suggest an additional lesson, the mean- 


ing of the Hebrew is narrowed in the quotation, the larger meaning 


including the less: thus,— 


In Ac 3” Peter, in quoting Gen 22", uses ‘kindreds’ instead of — 


‘nations,’ suggesting to his Jewish hearers that the Gentiles were 
their brethren. 

In Heb 1° we have angels instead of ‘gods,’ as in Ps 97’. The 
original means ‘ mighty ones,’ and is applied to God, false gods, angels, 
and generally to those high in authority. The Apostle takes the 
harrower meaning, and omits the rest. 

In Ro 11%* the word ‘Deliverer’ is used instead of ‘Redeemer,’ 
Is 597°. After Christ had appeared, the latter term would have been 
ambiguous in this passage. 

So in 1 Cor 3”°, quoted from Ps 94", for ‘men’ the Apostle reads 
‘ wise,’ and in Mt 4! our Lord says ‘ worship,’ instead of ‘fear,’ Dt 6'%, 
So Ro 14" ‘confess’ for ‘swear,’ Is 457". 





OLD TESTAMENT QUOTATIONS 253 


In Joel 2°° ‘servants and handmaidens’ appear as a class ; in Ae 218 
(also LXX) character is signified, ‘My servants,’ &c. 

In John, also, and the Pauline Epistles, there are indications of the 
writers’ familiarity with the Hebrew. The quotations in the Epistle 
to the Hebrews are almost wholly from the LXX, and generally 
verbatim. 

In Mt 91% and 127 the quotation from Ho 6° is according to the 
Hebrew, ‘and not sacrifice.’ The LXX have ‘ rather than sacrifice.’ 
See also Mt 26%! and Zee 137 ‘the shepherd’ (LXX “shepherds ’) ; 
Ro 117 (Gal 31) and Hab 24 ‘by (his) faith’ (LXX ‘by my faith’) ; 
Ro 15)° ‘ye Gentiles’ (Dt 32*° LXX ‘ye heavens’); 1 Cor 1554 and Is 25° 
‘He will swallow up death in victory,’ or ‘for ever’ (LXX ‘death 
prevailing hath swallowed (men) up’); 1 Pet 48 and Pr 10!” ‘love 
covereth all sins’ (LXX ‘ friendship covereth all who love not strife’). 
It will be seen that, in the last two cases, unless the LXX had a 
different Hebrew text, they entirely missed the meaning. 

In Mk 1 and Lu 7”? the quotation from Mal 3}, ‘before Me’ 
(Hebrew and LXX), becomes ‘before Thy face.’ In Jn 19%" (Zee 12!) 
we have ‘upon Him,’ instead of the Hebrew and LXX ‘upon Me.’ 
. In Ro 314 (Ps 10”) the singular is turned into plural ; in Ac 7‘? (Is 661-7) 
the affirmative into interrogative. In Mic 5? Bethlehem is described 
as ‘little to be among the thousands of Judah,’ in Mt 2° as ‘not the 
least.’ In Ac 7** the exile ‘beyond Damascus,’ predicted in Am 5?7, 
is extended to ‘beyond Babylon.’ 


Synonymous expressions are frequently employed. Ac 
27° (Ps 16°) Hebrew, ‘my glory’; LXX and New Testament 
‘my tongue.’ Ro 15)? (Is 111°) ‘shall stand for an ensign’; 
LXX and New Testament, ‘shall arise to rule.’ Ho 14° 
(Heb 131°) has been noticed above. 

Sometimes, again, parts of a prediction are omitted, be- 
cause not required by the argument, or because likely to 
raise a question which the inspired writer did not at the 
time intend to discuss. 

In quoting Zec 9°, for example, Mt 215 omits ‘ bringing salvation,’ 
as that fact was not at the time apparent. 

Sometimes, again, the New Testament quotation is more clearly 
expressed than the LXX, and sometimes it brings out the idea more 
fully even than the original itself. 

Compare, in illustration, the LXX version of Job 5% with the 


Apostle’s quotation, 1 Cor 3!°; and similarly, the Hebrew, LXX, and 
English version of Is 29, with 1 Cor 1%, 


‘ Trae Te, 


254 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 


While, therefore, the general principle seems to be that 
the inspired writers preserve rather the thoughts than the 
words of the original, we must not hastily conclude that 
verbal variations are without meaning or inaccurate, 


Quotations in the Apocalypse.—The quotations in the 
Book of Revelation, which are generally indirect, are of great 
interest. They connect the predictions of the two economies, 
and throw light upon the meaning of the symbolical lan- 
guage of the sacred volume. 


Important Variations. Sometimes the LXX and New 
Testament appear materially to differ from the Hebrew, 
while substantially expressing the same thought. Thus, 
the phrase in Ps 514, ‘ when Thou judgest,’ becomes in Ro 3* 
‘when Thou comest into judgement’ (R. V. and LXX). That 
is, God’s judgements, rightly estimated, are proved to be just 
—one truth in two different aspects. 

Again, in Is 53° it is said of the suffering Servant of 
Jehovah, ‘By oppression and judgement He was taken away’ 
(as R. V.); in the LXX and Ac 8%, ‘In His humiliation 
His judgement was taken away.’ The Hebrew speaks of 
iniquitous ‘judgement’ inflicted; the translation, of just 
judgement denied. But both present only different aspects 
of the same fact. 


In Heb 10° (and LXX) words from Ps 40° read, ‘A body — 


hast Thou prepared me’; the Hebrew original has ‘ Mine 
ears hast Thou opened.’ Unnecessary conjectures® have 
been offered to explain the discrepancy; but the truth 
expressed in both readings is the same—the worth of 
obedience in comparison with ritual. ‘The body is the 
instrument for fulfilling the Divine command, just as the 


* As that the word for ‘opened’ (lit. ‘digged”) refers to the piere- 
ing of the ear as a symbol of life-long servitude (Ex ar*): or that 
a copyist of the Hebrew, or else of the Greek, mistook a word. See 
any critical commentary. 





OLD TESTAMENT QUOTATIONS 255 


ear is the instrument for receiving it’ (Westcott). The LXX 
thus gives a free translation of the Hebrew. 

In Ps 68'§ (Hebrew and LXX) the Conqueror, entering 
the sanctuary, is apostrophized ; ‘Thou hast received gifts 
for men.” The Apostle Paul, in applying these words to 
Christ at His ascension, writes: ‘He gave gifts unto men,’ 
Eph 4%. The tribute laid at the Saviour’s feet was, in 
another view, the salvation of men. So, to receive and 
to give were one. 


155. Untraced quotations.—Some quotations have not 
been traced to their sources :— 


Mt 275 from ‘the prophets,’ ‘He shall be called a Nazarene,’ not 
‘a Nazarite,’ as the Rheims version—a different word; and see Mt 
111819_nor ‘a Branch’ (nétser Is 111), which would be inapplicable. 
The reference appears to be general—to those passages which speak of 
our Lord’s humiliation. 

Jn 7°°, also a general reference to Old Testament imagery, Is 44° 55} 
581). 

Eph 51*, probably based upon Is 60', with the Apostle’s commentary, 

Jas 45. The thought is the same as that in Ex 20° ‘I Jehovah thy 
God am a jealous God,’ but there is no direct quotation. The difficulty 
is not escaped by a rendering such as that of the R.V. 


Bearing of Quotations wpon Doctrine. 


156. Truths common to both Testaments.—The chief 
instruction, however, to be gathered from New Testament 
quotations relates to the TrutHs taught by them. They 
illustrate the doctrines and ethics of the ancient Scriptures, 
and of both dispensations; they supply evidence of the 
truth of Scripture; and they suggest important rules of 
biblical interpretation. 

1. Life by faith, salvation through Christ, and the duty 
of holiness are all taught to the Jewish and Gentile Church 
from the ancient Scriptures. 


Salvation by faith, and through Christ, proved by quotations and 
references in Ro 117 Gal 35-416 Ro 41°" x Pet 257 Jn 8°, Faith, from 


256 THE INTERPRETATION OF 





its relation to something which is righteousness, is counted as 
ness, Ro 45-8. Men are condemned through unbelief, Heb 37-. See 
also Heb 8%, 

Election of grace, and the promise as wide as the Fall, Ro 11° 10". 

Holiness essential, consists in love, and is enforced by Divine 
example, 2 Cor 6 Mt 22°79 r Pet 17° Mt 2323, 

Grace given to the humble, and in largest measure to those who use _ 
it best, Jas 4°. 

Present temporal blessing connected with obedience even under the 
gospel, Eph 675 1 Pet 3'°, 


Special doctrines.—The passages in the Old Testament 
to which we have referred as implying the Divinity of the 
Messiah and the agency of the Holy Spirit are quoted 
in the New Testament with the same view. Mark especially 
the following :— 


The stone of stumbling on which Israel fell is said in Isaiah to be 
Jehovah Himself, Is 8'°"* Ro 9° ro", So in Is 452-5, the speaker 
is called Jehovah, and to Him every knee is to bow. His language is 
quoted by Paul, Ro 14", to prove that all must submit to Christ. 

The vision described in Is 6*° is spoken of by John as a sight of 
Christ's glory, Jn 12*!; and the ‘voice of the Lord’ which spake to 
the prophet is called by Paul the Holy Ghost, Ac 28°5. 

In the Epistle to the Hebrews 181° passages which refer to One 
Who is spoken of as the Ruler of the world, the unchangeable Creator, 
Ps 977 45%" 1027>-°7, are applied to the Son of God. 

That the ancient Church had at least some glimpses of immortality, 
the resurrection, and a future judgement, may be gathered from 
Mt 228? Heb 11°54 7 Cor 15°° (see Ju 115) and the various passages 
in which the great day of the Lord is named, 1 Th 5? Rev 6!” (Joel a" 
Mal 4° Ps 17 Job 197° 21° Dn 12? Ho 1334). 


157. Old Testament foreshadowings.—The principles 
involved in Old Testament history may be applied to the 
experience of the Church under the gospel: whether that 
history illustrate human character or God’s dispensations, 
Ro 9g’ Gal 422-5! Ro 8 (Ps 447") 1 Cor ro'-™ Heb 37" 
1076-8, or whether the significance lies in special facts 
and incidents parallel or mutually illustrative in the two 
dispensations, 

This resemblance, moreover, is often shown to have been 


BEARING OF QUOTATIONS UPON DOCTRINE 257 


predetermined. An interesting series of quotations applies 
leading incidents of Israelite history to the events which 
the New Testament records; not simply by way of illustra- 
tion: there is a divinely arranged accordance between the two. 
See 1 Cor 10°, ‘These things were our examples’ (rvzov). 
Compare § 140. The formula ‘That it might be fulfilled’ 
does not mean precisely that events were framed with a 
view to the accomplishment of certain prophecies, but that 
they occurred according to a Divine purpose, shadowed 
forth in earlier days. Thus the declaration of Jehovah 
that Israel His child was called from Egypt, Ho 11', is 
applied to the infant Saviour, Mt 2!°; that is, in both 
cases, Egypt was the cradle of the Church. The poetic 
representation by Jeremiah of the mother-spirit of Rachel 
wailing above her tomb over the desolation wrought by the 
- exile of her descendants from their land prefigures the 
lamentation of the mothers in Bethlehem over their infants 
slain, Jer 314° Mt 21%. So again, the departure from 
Babylon foreshadowed the separation of Christians from the 
world. Compare 2 Cor 617-18 with Is 521!-% The com- 
parative study of the Old Testament history throughout, 
together with the prophecies cited by Evangelists and 
Apostles, is fraught with instruction. 

Passages in the prophets which contain general promises, 
or are descriptive of classes, are, of course, repeatedly 
fulfilled. They are, in fact, general principles. See the 
quotations of Is 29% in Mt 15%° Ac 13; and Heb 13° 
from Jos 1°. 

Double fulfilments.— Predictions, properly so called, 
may thus have a double fulfilment; a fact of which 
various explanations have been given. Compare § 146. 

Sometimes, for example, (1) the persons or things are 
types, one of the other; (2) sometimes they are, in certain 
aspects, identical; and (3) sometimes the events referred 
to are so closely blended as to be scarcely distinguishable. 

8 





258 THE INTERPRETATION OF 


1. The promise to Abraham, for example, that he should be the 
father of a numerous seed, is applied literally by Moses, Dt 1; by 
Paul it is applied to those who are partakers of his faith, Ro 4". 
To this class belong such passages as Ex 12 (the Paschal lamb, 
Jn 19"), and the promise concerning Solomon, a Sa 74, with the 
corresponding psalms, as 132", 

2. In another epistle, Paul says expressly that the seed in whom the 
nations are to be blessed is Christ, and then, that all who are Christ’s 
are the seed and heirs of the promise, Gal 3***, To this second class 
belong such passages as Ps 8?~, applicable first to man as the chief of 
God’s creatures, and thence to our Lord, Who is in this respect 
identified with us, or (it may be said) our antitype: Ps o1!2, 
applicable first to all who ‘say of the Lord, He is my refuge’ 
(verse 2), and peculiarly, therefore, to Christ; and various psalms 
which, originally descriptive of the afflictions of individual believers, 
have their fullest accomplishment in our Lord, Pss 69%2!25 ro9® 41° 
11822-2526, 

3. Such are the predictions in Is 40°, where the coming of our 
Lord in the flesh, and the final extension of His truth, are blended ; 
in Mal 3'%, where we have the same double reference, and in 
Joel 278-82, Compare the New Testament quotations, Of the same 
character are the predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem in 
Mt 24, 25, where are represented also some of the awful transactions 
of the last judgement. 


If it be said that this double fulfilment (whatever the 
explanation) weakens the evidence of prophecy, it should 
be remembered in reply, that the facts on which it is 
founded—the typical nature, for example, of the earlier 
economy, with the complete identity of Christ’s interests 
and those of His Church—themselves supply both evidence 
and consolation ; while many of the psalms®, and predic- 
tions of our Lord taken from the Prophets, cannot be 
satisfactorily interpreted apart from Him. 


On the subject of this chapter, Surenhusius, The Book of Reconciliation, 
1713, is still the standard treatise ; Randolph, Prophecies and other Old 
Testament Texts cited in the New Testament, 1782, is also valuable. Horne’s 


* Psalms 2, 22, 45, ro; and probably 4o, 16, and 72, Psalms 22, 40; 
embody the experience of the suffering Messiah ; 2, 45, 72, and 110 
describe His victories and glory. 


SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTILS 259 


Introduction, Dr. Davidson’s Hermeneutics, Gough’s New Testament Quota- 
tions, 1855, and Turpic’s Old Testament in the New, 1868, all contain 
complete lists of the parallel passages in Hebrew, Greek (LXX and 
New Testament), and English, with comments. 


Scripture Difficulties 


‘In divinity many things must be left abrupt and concluded with 
this :—“‘O the depth!” . .. For the inditer of Scripture did know 
four things which no man attains to know,—the mysteries of the 
kingdom of glory, the perfection of the laws of nature, the secrets of 
the heart of man, and the future succession of all ages.’ Bacon. 


158. Difficulties to be expected.—The Bible was written 
‘for our learning,’ and by ‘inspiration of God,’ and yet it is 
confessed that its general clearness is obscured by ‘things 
hard to be understood.’ Christians are often harassed by 
objections deduced from them, and unbelievers make them 
an excuse for rejecting the authority of revelation. What, 
it may be asked, is their origin, their solution, their use, 
and how far are they consistent with the character and aim 
of the Bible as an inspired book ? 

The Bible consists, it may be answered, of many separate 
books. Their origin is manifold. The languages in which 
they were composed are disused; they are distinct from 
each other, and different from our own. The expressions, 
images, and thoughts that the Bible contains belong to 
different ages, countries, and persons; the manners and 
customs it describes have passed away ; its topics are the 
most various and comprehensive, including the history, in 
part, of all. nations and of all times; and it contains dis- 
closures and precepts which refer to both worlds, expressed 
necessarily in terms taken from one only; and the whole 
revelation is included in a brief volume. Let these and 
kindred facts be remembered, and it will be seen at once 
that, to give within so narrow a range, and even to give at 
all, to mortal, finite minds, a revelation that shall be free 

Siz 





260 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


from difficulty is impossible. Difficulties there must be, 
such as need a larger amount of inquiry than any one man 
can give, and such as will leave, after the utmost inquiry, 
much to be hereafter explained. 


Unreal and imaginary difficulties.—Many, however, 
are unreal; and it is important to make sure, at the outset 
of inquiry, that the difficulty really exists. Perplexities and 
doubts may, in numberless cases, be removed by a better 
knowledge of the text of Scripture, by the correction of 
inaccurate translation, by an acquaintance with the manners 
and customs of the age and country in which a book was 
written, and by a wider application of historical facts. Such 
difficulties are met, to a great extent, in the sections of the 
present work devoted to these special subjects*. Some 
difficulties, however, not thus foreclosed may still arise in 
connexion with particular passages, as well as with the 
spiritual and moral teaching of Scripture. 


159. Difficult phrases and passages.—Thus there are 
phrases and passages of which the meaning is obscure. 
This obscurity, in many cases, is due to our ignorance of 
some special illustrative fact, or of the exact meaning of 
words; and many a misunderstood text has been cleared 
up by larger knowledge and deeper study. 

Such, however, as the following still remain. 


Jn 118, ‘grace For (dv7i, ‘‘ instead of”) grace,’ has created difficulty, 
‘For the benefits of the Law we have the blessings of the gospel,’ 
Chrys., Beza, Erasmus: ‘additional grace for grace properly used,’ 
Le Clere: ‘grace on account of the grace of Christ,’ Grot.: ‘ grace 
upon grace,’ i. e. abundance, so most moderns: ‘each blessing appro- 
priated becomes the foundation of a greater blessing. To have realized 
and used one measure of grace, was to have gained a larger measure 
as if in exchange for it’ (Westcott). 


* On the text, see Ch. IV throughout; on translation, Ch. VII, 
especially the sections on the R. V. ; on history, chronology, and the 
notions and usages preyalent in Scripture lands and times, the different 
parts of Ch. TX, 


SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES 261 


Heb 12!7, ‘ though he sought i¢ carefully with tears.’ Sought what? 
Repentance (his own or his father’s) ?—grammatically the nearer ante- 
cedent; or the blessing of his father ?—the remoter antegedent. The 
latter interpretation best agrees with the history, Gen 27*4. 

1 Cor 117°, ‘For this cause ought the woman to have power (properiy 
“authority’’) on her head, because of the angels.’ ‘To have power on,’ 
that is, probably, to have a veil-covering (the sign of man’s authority), 
although the word never has this meaning elsewhere. So Bishop 
Ellicott renders : ‘ For this cause ought the woman to bear [the sign 
of] authority [resting] on her head.’ With this the R. V. nearly 
concurs. ‘ Because of the angels,’ i. e. either evil angels, who will be 
gratified by indecency, or good angels who observe her conduct, Eccl 5°; 
or, the teachers of the churches, Rev 2, 3; or, spies sent by the pagans. 
The second explanation is now generally adopted. 


In poetic and figurative language, the difficulty is often 
increased. 


Is 528, ‘They shall see, eye to eye, when the Lord returneth to 
Zion. This is often quoted as denoting unity in conviction and 
belief. The meaning seems to be that the watchers on the walls for 
the far-off deliverance will now behold Jehovah returning to Zion, 
‘as near as one man is to another when he looks into the other's eye 
with his own’ (Delitzsch). Comp. Num 14!. 

Ps 104*, ‘Who maketh His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of 
fire.’ Rather, ‘Who maketh winds His messengers (angels), flames 
of fire (lightnings) His ministers’ That is, the forces of nature are 
themselves the ministers and angels of Jehovah. Comp. Heb 1’. 

Hag 27, ‘The desire of all nations shall come.” Often quoted asa 
prophecy of the Messiah’s advent, an interpretation aided by the use 
of a capital letter in ‘Desire.’ But the word ‘desire’ is feminine, 
collective. So in R.V., ‘The desirable things of all nations shall 
come’ to adorn the Temple of Jehovah. Comp. Is 60°18, [As other 
illustrations of needless exposition by capital letters, see A. V., Zee 3° 
Jer 23°, but not 33'°.] 

Hab 2%, ‘That he may run that readeth it.’ The reference is 
probably not, as often quoted, to the distinctness of the writing : ‘ that 
he who runs may read,’ but to its warning to hasten from the 
threatening danger, ‘that he who reads may run.’ 

2 Pet 1°, ‘a more sure word of prophecy ’—than what? ‘Surer 
than fables,’ verse 16, Chandler; others, than the Transfiguration, 
Sherlock ; but better, ‘the word of prophecy confirmed’ (R. V. ‘ [made] 
more sure’), either by the Transfiguration, or rather by New Testament 
fulfilments. Prophecy was as a lamp in a dark place, the fulfilment 
in Christ is as the dawn. 


262 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Of the difficulties of authorship and scope the Book of Job and the 
Song of Songs may be taken as illustrations. See the Introductions to 
these books jn Part II. 


160. Difficult allusions.— When the meaning of words 
has been fixed, it is sometimes difficult to understand the 
custom to which they refer and the reasons for it. 


Eccl 11}, ‘Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it 
after many days’; ‘Give bread to those in affliction,’ Gill. ‘Sow thy 
corn without hope of harvest,’ that is, ‘be disinterested in your 
liberality,’ Jebb ; ‘Be liberal while you can,’ Boothroyd. Rather, 
‘exercise a large faith in God; act in your gifts and efforts as the 
husbandman, who casts his rice upon the waters, and waits for the 
crop; the rice-grounds being inundated from seed-time till nearly 
harvest,’ Dr. Clarke. 

Various customs are mentioned in the following passages in Isaiah, 
and create difficulty ; all of them, however, are capable of explana- 
tion: Is 3i6 4916-28 5016 rae 52? 57°° 65*4, 


Difficulties in chronology and history are various. 


In Gen 4)’ the early building of a city by Cain has created difficulty, 
and it has been asked—‘ who inhabited it?’ A little calculation, how- 
ever, will show that even 500 years after the Creation, the descendants 
of our first parents must have amounted to many hundred thousand 
in all. 

Difficulties in chronology and in numbers generally have often 
arisen, as we have seen, from false readings, the similarity between 
different numeral letters, and from the use of different modes of 
reckoning. 

So among profane authors. Cyrus reigned thirty years (Cicero, 
de Div.), i.e. from his joining Cyaxares ; nine years (Ptol. Canon), i. e. 
from his taking Babylon; seven years (Xen. Cyropedia), i. e. from his 
becoming sole monarch. This last is perhaps Ezra’s reckoning, Ezr 1° 
(Shuckford), 


Historical difficulties are of two kinds: such as arise on 
comparison of different parts of Scripture, and such as arise 
from the comparison of Scripture with profane records. 


161. Apparent discrepancies.— Comparing parallel and 
apparently contradictory narratives of Scripture, the fol- 
lowing solutions are important :— 


\ 


SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES 263 


1. Apparently contradictory narratives may record dif- 
ferent facts. 


In Mt 1!—!6 we have our Lord’s genealogy through Joseph in the royal 
line; in Lu 3°-*8 perhaps through Mary in the natural descent. See 
Introduction to Gospels, Part IT. 

Tho call of the first Apostles in Mt 418-22 and Lu 5!-"! are different 
accounts of the same transaction; and are both different in place 
and subsequent in time to the call to discipleship, Jn 1°°-*, 

The Lord’s Prayer, again, was perhaps given on two different occa- 
sions: to the multitude upon the mountain, Mt 6°"), and to the 
disciples alone, Lu r11°~*. 

From Jn 1914 it appears that our Lord was before Pilate’ s tribunal 
‘about the sixth hour.’ In Mt 27* Mk 15°3 Lu 23“4 we read that ‘ about 
the sixth hour’ He was hanging on the Cross, when the darkness 
came on. The probable explanation is that John calculated the hours 
of the day differently from the other Evangelists, counting (according 
to a Roman method) from midnight and noon, while they reckoned 
from sunrise and sunset. The sixth hour with him, therefore, was 
6a.m.; with them it was noon. Compare Jn 1°° 4°52 (Westcott). 


2. In giving the same narrative, different historians relate 
different circumstances, some giving more, some fewer than 
the rest: the fuller account includes the shorter, and the 
shorter does not contradict the fuller. 

Compare Lu 2°? with Mt 2?2-?5, where they agree : in all the preceding 
verses they differ, though without contradiction. 

Compare, on the two demoniacs, Mk 51~*1 Mt 878-*4 Lu 826-40; and 
on the blind men healed at the gate of Jericho, Mt 20°°-8* Mk ro**-5? 
Lu 18°°-48, Several explanations of the occurrence have been given, 


any one of which would solve the difficulty. To decide between them 
is unnecessary, perhaps impossible. 


3. The same remark applies to the narrative of what was 
said on some particular occasion, one historian giving the 
very words and another the sense, or each a different part 
of what was said, or varying the order for a particular 
reason. 

The two different accounts of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7 
Lu 6!7-*), The simplest explanation is that it was delivered on 


‘a level place’ (Luke, R. V.) in this mountain range. 
The connexion of the Last Supper with the Passover feast has 





ereated a difficulty. According to the first three Evangelists, ‘the 
Synoptics,’ the Supper appears to have been eaten at the regular time 
of the Passover; but John seems as plainly to intimate that the 
Paschal feast had not as yet been celebrated at the time of our Lord’s 
trial on the following morning, Jn 13”° 18% r9%*, Various explanations 
have been proposed, of which the chief are (1) that Jesus and His 
disciples anticipated the feast by a day (see Lu 224°), or (2) that the 
Jewish celebration had really taken place on that night, the passages 
quoted from John referring to other and subsequent observances 
connected with the festival. The weight of evidence appears in 
favour of the former solution; so that Christ, the True Passover, was 
sacrificed at the very time when the Paschal lamb wasslain. For this 
view, see Westcott, Comm. in loc. ; for the latter, Dr. pep ses Life of 
Jesus the Messiah. 

See also, as instances of verbal divergence similarly wniidials the 
words of the Supper, Mt 267627 Mk 14°*-®5 Lu 22°, and the titles on 
the Cross, Mt 2787 Mk 1576 Lu 2358 Jn 19”. 


4. Things said to be done by one man are elsewhere said 
to be done by another, who, however, acted on his behalf, 
and sometimes the plural is used when the remark is 
applicable to one only». Here there is no contradiction. 


5. Narratives of what was spoken or done may create 
difficulty from the fact that general expressions are to be 
limited by particular ones, obscure expressions to be ex- 
plained by those that are plain. 

, Mt ro! Mk 6° Lu 9°. 


6. The narratives of Scripture are compiled on different 
principles and for different purposes. Some are written 
chronologically, on the whole or in particular passages ; 
others give incidents in groups. The principle of arrangement 
must be studied, and the whole harmonized in accordance 
with it. 

The order of Mark and Luke is generally chronological. Matthew 
gives facts and parables in groups. Sometimes, however, Matthew 
gives the true order, and indicates the fact by the terms employed. 


* Mt 8° Lu 7°° Mk ro® and Mt 20”, 
> Mt 26° and Jn 12‘; Mt 274 and Lu 23°, 


SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES 265 


In the history of the Temptation, for example (481°), he affirms the 
order: ‘then,’ ‘again’; Lu 4 gives a different order, but the order is 
not affirmed, 

In Gen 1?’, the creation of man is mentioned briefly. The second 
account, 27-1, narrates the fact at greater length. 

The order of the Lord’s Supper, with the betrayal of Judas, is given 
by John, Matthew, and Mark; between Mt 26> and 2676 Jn 13°°-*° must 
be inserted, and Luke’s order will be, Lu 2271S 19.20, 

So the true order of Is 3871-22 may be gathered from 2 Ki 207°. 

In some cases passages appear to have been displaced from their 
true connexion, as 1 Sa 16!4-®5, See Introduction to 1 Sa, Part II. 


7. Sometimes there is an apparent discrepancy between 
an original narrative and the reference made to it elsewhere. 
Ac 7, ‘which Abraham bought’—but Jacob bought it, Gen 33” 
Jos 24°? ; and Jacob, moreover, was buried in Hebron, not in Sychem, 


Gen 50. Read, probably, ‘our father,’ i.e. Jacob, and omit‘ Abraham.’ 
Or, the memory of Stephen may have confused the facts. 


8. Sometimes the reference contains more than the ori- 
ginal narrative, and the difficulty is removed by remembering 
that the earlier inspired historians do not relate all that 
happened. 

Joseph fettered, Ps 10518; the saying of our Lord, Ac 20%; an 
appearance of Christ to James, 1 Cor 15’; the marriage of Salmon and 
Rahab, Mt 1° (not recorded in the Old Testament). So Ju *1* and 
Rey 214, 

162. Alleged contradictions to Secular History.— 
Comparing the narratives of Scripture with secular history, 
we find difficulties, many of which, however, have long since 
yielded to fuller knowledge. 


Daniel mentions four kings of Babylon and Persia—Nebuchadnezzar, 
Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and Cyrus. The first is well known; 
the second is identified as the son of Nabonidus (the Labynetus of 
Greek historians) son of Nitocris (Herodotus, i. 185-188), who may 
have been a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. Hence Belshazzar is spoken 
of in Daniel (518) as Nebuchadnezzar's son*. ‘Darius the Mede’ has been 
variously regarded as Astyages the last Median king, or Cyaxares II 


* See The Old Vestament in the Light of Historical Records, by Theophilus 
G. Pinches, LL.D., rg02. 








ky 


\ ‘on 
266 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE  . 


s 
his son (after the absorption of Media into the Persian Empire*). 
A modern theory, on which see § 192, p. 316, identifies him with 
Gobryas (Gubaru), the general of Cyrus, left in Babylon as his viceroy. . 
Cyrus was succeeded by Cambyses (or Ahasuerus, Ezr 4°); he by 
Smerdis (or Artaxerxes, Ezr 47), and he by Darius Hystaspes, Ezr 6', 
whose successor was his son Xerxes (the Ahasuerus of the Book of 
Esther), succeeded by his son Artaxerxes Longimanus, the Artaxerxes 
of Nehemiah. Another Artaxerxes, and two other kings of the name 
of Darius, filled the throne before the empire was subdued by 
Alexander, B.c. 331. The identity of the names creates several diffi- 
culties, but careful study reconciles most. 

In Lu 2? it is said that a taxing was first made when Cyrenius was 
governor of Syria. Probably as R. V. ‘this was the first taxing 
(enrolment) made when Cyrenius,’ &c. Publius Sulpitius Quirinius 
(here called Cyrenius) was governor of Syria 4. D. 6, when a registration 
or enrolment (Acts 557) was ordered on the deposition of Archelaus, 
Our Lord was then about ten years of age. The Evangelist was, of 
course, perfectly familiar with this enrolment, as he himself recorded 
Gamaliel’s speech. He must therefore have referred, in his Gospel, to 
an earlier event of the kind; and explanations have been offered, 
sometimes by proposing a different translation; as ‘this enrolment 
took place before Cyrenius was governor’; or ‘this enrolment took effect 
when Cyrenius was governor,’ having been postponed until then. 
But such explanations are now shown to be needless, by evidence 
recently discovered that Quirinius was twice in authority in Syria; the 
former occasion having been at the time stated by the Evangelist. 

See other instances in Paley’s Evidences, Part II, ch. vi, Religious 
Tract Society, p. 260. The works of Lardner give the completest view 
of the accordance of sacred and profane records. 


163. Seeming contradictions in Scripture statements. 
There are apparent contradictions in language which sets 
forth the truths and precepts of Scripture. Between 
a literal and a figurative expression there is sometimes an 
apparent contradiction, which is removed by fair explanation. 

1. Sometimes the words of one passage must be explained 
figuratively. 

‘Ye will not come,’ Jn 54°; ‘no man can come except the Father 


draw him,’ Jn 6. The first implies, when compared with other 
passages, that to have cternal life, every one who hears the gospel is 


* See Prideaux, Connection, Book II. 


SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES 267 


bound to believe it; that men are so depraved that they will not 
believe, and that therefore they are condemned. The second affirms 
that men cannot come. What, then, does this mean? Is it want of 
power, which is the proper sense of ‘ cannot,’ or is it want of will, 
which is the figurative sense? Both senses are found in Scripture. 
‘Ahijah could nof see, by reason of age.’ So Jon 1%. ‘Joseph's 
brethren could not speak peaceably to him.’ ‘How can ye, being evil, 
speak good things?’ where the dominion of a strong propensity 
is implied. It is to this latter our Lord refers; nothing less than 
special Divine agency will subdue this propensity; and, being in 
the will, it is our sin. 

So in all the passages which speak of God in expressions accommo- 
dated to the weakness of human conceptions. 

Compare also Mt 11“ with Jn 17. 


2. Sometimes general assertions in one text are to be 
restricted by others. 


In Lu 168 Mk 10” divorce is forbidden absolutely, but in Mt 5° 
19° it is allowed, though for adultery only, while in 1 Cor 7! the 
believing party is said to be free to leave the unbelieving husband 
or wife who is determined to separate. 

Restrict and explain in the same way Gen 1317 231718 Ac 75. 


3. Sometimes the same terms are used in different senses 
in different texts, and it is difficult to know how to restrict 
them in each. 


In Mt 18%1-22 forgiveness is enjoined absolutely; in Lu 17** on 
repentance; either the condition of repentance is presupposed in 
Matthew, or the phrase in Luke means, as often as one seeks forgive- 
ness give it. 

A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law, Ro 37°; 
‘by works a man is justified, and not by faith only,’ Jas 2. Paul 
speaks of the justification of the ungodly in relation to their acceptance 
by God, James of the justification of the godly in relation to their 
approval by God—Fuller. Or Paul of justification in the sight of God, 
James in the sight of man—Hoadley and Taylor. Or Paul speaks 
of faith with its effects, James of mere assent—Grot., Macknight. 
According to James, faith without works is dead ; according to Paul’s 
teaching, it would be no faith at all. 

So in 1 Cor 1o* Gal 11° Pr 264°. 

Ex 20° Eze 18%, ‘visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the 
children’; ‘the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.’ Hither 
God’s plan towards the close of the Jewish dispensation was changed: 





268 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


at first the fathers were spared, but at last fathers and sons, and not 
sons only, were to suffer—Fuller. Or the first description applies 
only to those ‘who hate Him.’ If Judah, therefore, in the days oi 
Ezekiel had been righteous, they would not have gone into captivity 
for the sins of Manusseh. In both passages men are spoken of, 
not as individuals, but as members of society, and both refer only 
to this life. 


4. Sometimes the same action is aseribed to different 
agents, and sometimes different and apparently inconsistent 
descriptions are given of the same object; in which case 
either the action is described in terms which are used in 
different senses, or there is a sense in which the terms are 
true ; but it is sometimes difficult to ascertain which is the 
correct solution. 

Christ intercedes, Ro 8° Heb 7°, as does the Spirit, Ro 8%-*7, the 
one in heaven and the other in our hearts. Christ is called the 


Comforter (or Advocate), 1 Jn 2!, as is the Spirit, Jn 16’. The one 
is within, and the other above. 


The teaching of Scripture on the coming of our Lord 
involves nearly all the difficulties of interpretation to which 
we have referred. 


Difficulties in the Revelation itself. 


164. After all these difficulties of interpretation have 
been solved, there are others which apply to the things 
revealed or commanded in Scripture; and it is in objec- 
tions founded upon those difficulties that men most indulge. 

Many passages have been placed under this head which 
properly involve questions of interpretation only. 

Lev 27°**" has been quoted as authorizing human sacrifices, as has 
Jephthah’s treatment of his daughter, Judg r1°*; but human sacrifices 
were expressly forbidden, Dt 12°°-5! Ley 20? Ps 106°788, All who even 
touched a dead body were unclean; and, moreover, no devoted thing 
could be sacrificed. Jephthah may have devoted his daughter to 


perpetual virginity ; and, at all events, the act is not commended, 
Expressions in the Old Testament seem to imply vindictive feeling ; 


DIFFICULTIES IN THE REVELATION ~— 269 


but some of the expressions are figurative, Ps 105; some are pre- 
dictions only, the tenses being indicative future, not imperative ; 
and others are the denunciations of Divine justice against trans- 
gressors, Dt 28. 

Some actions alleged to be done by prophets are said to be ridiculous 
or immoral: but they were either symbolical, or were represented 
in vision only, or were merely related by the prophet. Is 203 ‘naked,’ 
i.e. without his upper garment, Lowth; or in vision, Rosenm. Jer 13*6 
_ a vision (Lowth), Eze 4. 

Precepts and statements are interpreted without the necessary 
restriction or explanation: Jn 6°!-58, eating Christ’s flesh; Mt 123°, 
‘idle words’ pernicious, calumnious ; Mt 19°, ‘rich man’; Mk 1074, 
‘one who trusts in riches’; Mt 5°°, cut off a right hand; 5°, ‘whosoever 
shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also,’ both 
spoken comparatively—rather do this than commit a sin. 

Illustrations.—Of difficulties in the sense of Scripture 
the following may be taken as a sample :— 

i. There are alleged contrarieties between the Old Testa- 
ment and the New, and between the teaching of our Lord 
and the teaching of His Apostles. 

ii. There is said to be much that is impossible in the 
history of creation, and in the attempt to trace all mankind 
to a common origin. 

iii, Some of the miracles—the history of the Fall, of 
Balaam, the demoniacal possessions in the New Testament, 
for example—are said to be incredible. 

iv. Much was wrong in the applauded characters of Old 
Testament saints. 

vy. Extraordinary commands were given to them, as to 
Abraham, and to the Israelites. 

vi. The punishment of idolatry with death seems to 
sanction persecution, and many of the institutions of the 
Law are unaccountable. 

vii. Passages from the Old Testament are quoted in the 
New in altogether unnatural senscs. 

viii, Some of the moral and spiritual doctrines of the 
gospel as a remedial system are mysterious, 


vate 


‘on | 


270 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


165. Preliminary questions to be settled.—In ad- 
dressing ourselves to the examination of difficulties like 
these, certain preliminary questions should be fully met. 
And, first of all, Are such difficulties, supposing them 
unsolved, sufficient to neutralize the evidence for the in- 
spiration and Divine authority of Scripture ? 

Now it is quite clear that, apart from any such details, 
the Bible reveals, in passages innumerable and unmistakable, 
the essential principles of truth and duty. 


We have but to open the New Testament in almost any of its pages 
to draw forth a scheme of holiness. The spirituality of the Divine 
nature, and of all acceptable worship (Jn 4%); repentance and remis- 
sion of sins in Christ’s name (Lu 24*7); salvation through no other 
(Ac 41%); the duty of all men everywhere to repent and believe 
(Ac 17°° Mk 1°) ; eternal life through the Son; eternal death as the 
consequence of unbelief (Jn 3%); the necessity of holiness (Mt 7%) ; 
the assurance of the help of the Spirit to control our corruption and to 
aid our infirmities. In every age, moreover, the great end of the 
Bible as a religiously instructive book, the repository of saving truth, 
has been answered. Contrast the creed of the meanest Jew, in relation 
to God and law, with the errors and uncertainty of the wisest of the 
heathen, the first Tuscwan Disputation of Cicero with the commonest 
Christian treatise on immortality and the resurrection, and the differ- 
ence will at once appear. The heathen philosopher falters at every 
step, and dreads the very conclusions to which his reasonings lead 
him ; while the opinion of the Christian is already formed; his only 
difficulty being to impress his own heart and the hearts of others with 
the truth. By the leading and undoubted precepts of Scripture the 
guiltiest may be ‘throughly furnished for every good work,’ and by its 
doctrines all men may be made ‘ wise unto salvation,’ 


But, it is asked again, do not these difficulties affect the 
authority of the Bible, and at least impair the evidence of 
its inspiration ? Could a revelation be of universal authority 
which contains so much that is unintelligible; and is it 
really a revelation where so much is concealed ? 

In answering this question, it might be said that what- 
ever we know of the works of God in nature is liable to the 
same objection. Bishop Butler has shown most conclusively 


4 


DIFFICULTIES IN THE REVELATION 271 


that natural religion, revealed religion, and the providence 
of God, together with every known law of human duty, are 
all exposed to the same difficulties. There is in all an 
obscurity of meaning and deficiency of evidence, a mys- 
teriousness of arrangement and treatment that bespeak our 
state to be one of incessant discipline. In truth these 
objections apply much less forcibly to Scripture than to 
our daily practice; and the reasoning which seeks to set 
aside the Bible would, if true, rob God of all His authority, 
and man of all motives to virtue. 


Difficulties a support to Faith.—But we go further. 
The very difficulties of Scripture, philological and historical, 
afford cogent internal proof of the genuineness and 
authenticity of the Bible. 


The solution of these difficulties has been gradual, and that for the best 
reasons. Hach age has its own temptations to infidelity, and each has 
its peculiar evidence. Let any one read the Credibility of Lardner, 
a work which could not have been written in the age of the Apostles, 
for the facts on which it is founded were later than their times; or 
the Hore Pauline of Paley, or the Hore Apostolice and Hore Evangelice of 
Birks, on the apparent discrepancies and real agreement between the 
statements of profane and sacred history, between the Epistles and the 
Acts of the Apostles, or between the different Gospels, and he will at 
once perceive that the difficulties of Scripture create an internal 
evidence even more decisive than the external : it is, throughout, the 
apparent discrepancy between the writers themselves and profane 
records, and their obvious independence of one another and of every- 
thing but truth, that forms the argument. We can dispense with 
nothing, not even with difficulties. Hvery element (the apparent dis- 
crepancy among the rest) is essential to the force of the whole. 


And if it be said that these difficulties are too numerous, 
or that the solution of them has been too slow, it may be 
answered that this gradual solution supplies to each age 
fresh evidence, and excites continued interest in Scripture, 
while the fact proves that the evidence of the Bible, like 
its doctrine, is for all time. 


—— 


i 


272 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


166. Doctrinal Difficulties..-These remarks apply 
especially to philological and historical difficulties. We 
now proceed to investigate the doctrinal—the great mysteries 
of godliness and iniquity, ‘the hard things’ connected with 
salvation, and the veiled or dimly disclosed future. How 
obvious are such remarks as these: men are fallen; our 
nature is depraved ; our intellect is darkened. A revelation, 
just such as our moral taste approved, could not fail to have 
marks of an origin much lower than heaven. We are finite: 
what more natural than that an omniscient Being, when 
He speaks on matters which refer to eternal interests, should 
speak occasionally what we but partially comprehend ? 
Certainly the absence of difficulty in a communication from 
what professed to be infinite Wisdom would have had thrown 
upon it by that circumstance a strong, if not an unanswer- 
able suspicion. See Objection viii, p. 269. 

Let it be added that these difficulties have dignified every kind of 
human learning, by rendering all eligible to the service of religion. 
Historically, the study of classical literature in modern times began 
with the study of the Bible; and ever since, sound religion and true 
learning have been linked in inseparable bonds. All knowledge is 
thus sanctified ; and, however individual Christians may have exposed 
themselves to the charge of being enemies of mental improvement, it 
becomes impossible to include the Christian religion itself in this 
rebuke. 

No doubt it may be affirmed, in reply to these reasonings, that the 
existence of Scripture difficulties is attended with one inconvenience: 
they are liable to excite distrust in the minds even of Christians, that 
is, they try our faith. But is not this again an evidence in their 
favour? What are all the dispensations of God but our discipline? 
What is life but a walking by faith? that is, by habitual reliance on 
Him Whose ways we cannot understand, and in circumstances that 
require such a trust. Perhaps inspiration might have removed all 


difficulties from Scripture, though we cannot tell how ; but certainly 
we should have lost much, and gained little by the change. 


General Answers.— Without, then, attempting to answer 
all objections in detail, let the following rules be marked 
and applied, 


DIFFICULTIES IN THE REVELATION 273 


1. We must interpret Scripture, its announcements, and 
disclosures, in accordance with what it professes to be 
—-an inspired volume designed to set forth the scheme of 
salvation by Christ, and to bring men unto God. So far 
as it is like other books written in the language of man, 
it must be interpreted by the same laws as other books ; 
' we must ever look at the words, the context, the speaker, 
and the customs and history of his age; but so far as it 
differs from other books—being inspired and intended for 
all time, every part of it foreshadowing or plainly exhibiting 
the Cross—we must give to its phrases and intimations a 
plenary and spiritual significance. 

The offerings ordained by the Law, for example, considered in 
themselves alone, were sanguinary. They certainly contain no inti- 
mation that they prefigured the death of our Lord. Their ultimate 
purpose, however, is unquestioned ; and in the meantime they taught 
the great doctrine of sacrifice, to some probably most plainly; and 
they impressed the hearts of men with some of the same sentiments 
as are now awakened by the Cross. The promise to Abraham, again, 
has no such terms as point exclusively and clearly to the coming of 
the Messiah; and such a promise found in Virgil or in Homer could 
not fairly be interpreted as having such a reference. But the 
Christian cannot doubt its meaning. If the writers of the Scriptures 
did not foresee all the truths which might be drawn from their words, 
God the Holy Spirit foresaw them ; and the business of interpretation 
is to learn His purpose and end in what was revealed. To explain, 
therefore, the inspired Scriptures in all respects as if they were 
‘human compositions, with no wider range and no spiritual rule, is, 
as Lord Bacon has expressed it, to ‘dishonour the Scriptures and 
injure the Church.’ 


2. Scripture must be regarded as a system from begin- 
ning to end; and the different books and sentences must 
be interpreted as the component and connected parts of a 
great whole. All the light which the first page throws 
upon the last, or the last upon the first, may be freely used 
for purposes of illustration and defence; not, of course, to 
prove that every passage has the same meaning, but to 
prove that all have the same end. 

T 


-&9 . 
' 7 Uy 


274. THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


This rule, it will be observed, does for facts and truths what the 
kindred rule on the comparison of paralle] passages does for the inter- 
pretation of the words, See § 129. ‘From him that hath not shall be 
taken away even that which he hath,’ for example, is the sentence of 
our Lord. Separate these words from the context, from the parallel 
passage in another Gospel, from the principle of the Divine govern- 
ment which they illustrate, and we miss their sense; explain them 
connectedly and the whole is clear. So of other truths. The sacrifice 
and the death of Abel, viewed in themselves, seem not more significant 
than the good deed and untimely end of any good man; but view his 
death as the firstfruits of sin, and his sacrifice as an evidence of the 
true nature of every acceptable offering; as a proof, moreover, how 
conscious demerit expressed itself in the first age, and how deeply 
it felt the need of vicarious suffering, and the whole narrative assumes 
an aspect of importance and dignity. Explain in the same way the 
ordinances of the Law, the personal history of many ancient saints, 
and incidents in themselves trivial become fresh marks of internal 
credibility, and even lessons for the instruction of the Church through- ~ 
out every age. 


3. As it is important to study Scripture connectedly, it 
is even more important to study it in its true connexion, 
and in that alone. A false system may be more mischievous 
than no system at all. 


If idolatry, for example, be regarded as mental error merely, or 
if the Jews be regarded as an ordinary community, the punishment of 
that sin with death may seem severe. In reality it was a penalty 
inflicted only on the apostate Israelite, who had repeatedly accepted 
Jehovah as his chosen King. Ina theocracy idolatry was civil treason ; 
and the penalty of treason was therefore awarded. 

To find fault with the acts of ancient saints, and to conclude that 
the record of their faults is as inconsistent with the Divine origin 
of the Bible as the acts themselves were derogatory to true religion, 
implies a false theory. Suppose, for example, that the object of the — 
Bible be the revelation of God and the improvement of man, and the — 
objections cease. 

Take, as an instance, the deception of Jacob, Gen 27), and mark 
its lessons in relation to God and to ourselves. His superiority over — 
his brother and his inheritance of the promise had been foretold at his 
birth. Isaac, Rebekah, and Jacob himself all probably knew of this 
prediction, although Isaac, in spite of it, made Esau his favourite, 
and destined for him the blessing. Jacob, again, had so little faith 
in the Divine promise, that he needlessly removed the difficulty of 


DIFFICULTIES IN THE REVELATION 275 


his brother’s priority by purchase: Rebekah, with no more faith, 
induced her son to practise the deception which obtained him the 
blessing. The guilt and folly of this whole transaction soon bore their 
appropriate fruits. The weakness of Isaac was punished by the 
alienation and dispersion of his children. Rebekah’s unbelief ended 
in her becoming dependent upon the son she had wronged: her 
favourite son she never again saw. Jacob was driven from his home 
—was himself robbed and defrauded by Laban; the wife he despised 
became the mother of the chosen tribe, and in the deception of his own 
children he learned the grievousness of his sin. The punishment, 
in fact, was complete: nor less so is the lesson. It may be said that, 
nevertheless, he inherited the blessing ; and this is true : for the gifts 
of God are without repentance, and the choice of His servants is 
founded upon no personal merit, but on reasons which, in most cases, 
as in this, He has seen it fit to conceal. 


4. Let no man attempt or expect the explanation of 
every difficulty. 


‘Of the dark parts of Scripture,’ says Warburton, ‘there are two 
sorts, one which may be cleared up by the studious application of 
well-employed talents, the other which will always recede within the 
shadow of God’s throne, where it would he impiety to intrude.’ ‘The 
last step of reason,’ says Pascal, ‘is to know that there is an infinitude 
of things which surpass it.’ After all difficulties have been solved, 
and every word of the Bible explained, the weightiest difficulties 
of all will remain. The origin of evil, the mystery of Divine fore- 
knowledge and free agency, and much of the scheme of redemption 
will still exercise our faith. We shall say even then, as it is our 
wisdom to say now, ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom 
and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgements, and 
His ways past finding out!’ 


+ ee 


CHAPTER IX 
INTERPRETATION. PART IL 
On the Use of External Helps 


‘The Bible resembles an extensive garden, where there is a vast 
variety and profusion of fruits and flowers, some of which are more 
essential or more splendid than others; but there is not a blade 
suffered to grow in it which has not its use and beauty in the system. 
Salvation for sinners is the grand truth presented everywhere, and in 
all points of light: but the pure in heart sees a thousand trafts of the 
Divine character, of himself, and of the world; some striking and 
bold, others cast as it were into the shade, and designed to be searched 
for and examined.’—Crcrz, Remains, p. 108. 

THoRoUGHLY to understand the Scriptures, to harmonize 
apparent contradictions, to gather up all the truth it con- 
tains, and sometimes even to enable us to select, out of 
several meanings, the one which is most consistent with 
the Divine plan, it is often necessary to seek some ex- 
ternal or collateral help. We need to know the facts 
of general history, of chronology, of natural history, of 
geography, with the opinions and ideas prevalent among 
the people to whom the various parts of Scripture were 
addressed, and especially the manners and customs of Eastern 
nations. The illustrations derived from these several sources 
often throw a flood of light upon the sacred text. 


I. Geography 


167. Importance of Geographical Study. A knowledge 
of Geography, especially that of the Holy Land, is essential, 
in order to give local colour to our conceptions. By such 


HELPS FROM GEOGRAPHY 277 


help, the histories become more vivid, the prophecies more 
expressive, the allusions in Bible poetry more intelligible. 

The value of this study is illustrated by the subjoined examples— 
a few only out of multitudes. But first it will be useful to give in 
outline the chief geographical facts. To Bible students a good atlas 
is indispensable. 

Lands of the Bible. The Bible directs us to the high 
parts of Armenia, ‘the land of Ararat,’ and the fertile 
plains between the Tigris and the Euphrates, as the first 
settlement of mankind after the Flood. In the subsequent 
dispersion, SHem and his descendants occupied the south- 
westerly districts of Asia; Ham, Africa, with the land of 
Canaan and part of the Arabian peninsula; and, after some 
time, JAPHETH, Europe and part of Asia. 

Going south-westwards from Ararat, we come to the 
mountain ranges of Lebanon, ‘the White Mountain4, on 
the outskirts of Palestine. Lebanon proper extends from 
the north, where it reaches its highest elevation (about 
10,000 feet), for about 90 miles, to the great gorge of the 
Litany (Leontes) above Tyre; and Anti-Lebanon (‘Lebanon 
towards the sunrising,’ Jos 13°) for 60 miles in a nearly 
parallel direction, until it culminates southwards in Mount 
Hermon’. Between the two ranges there lies the broad 
uneven plain called by the Greeks Ccele-Syria (‘the Valley 
of Lebanon,’ Jos 1117, where Baal-gad is probably Baalbek, 
the heathen City of the Sun). Looking from either Lebanon 

« ‘White,’ either because of the snows which for the greater part of 
the year cover the summits; or, as more generally explained, from 
the limestone cliffs and ‘scaurs’ which gleam in the sunlight. 

> Hermon (9,200 feet), also called Sirion (‘breastplate’), Senir(perhaps 
‘coat of mail’), and Sion (‘ elevated,’ an entirely different word from 
Zion in Jerusalem), is distinguished by three summit-peaks, nearly 
equalin height. Hence ‘ the Hermons,’ Ps 42° (not ‘ the Hermonites,’ 
as A. V.). See, for the different names of this mountain, Dt 3° Ct 4% 
Eze 27° Dt 4*8. It is visible from almost every part of Palestine, 


terminating the view to the north. Probably it was on this ‘high 
mountain’ that our Lord was transfigured, Mt 17! Mk 9”. 


ae 


278 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


or Hermon (see Ct 48) we have around us ‘the lands of 
the Bible.’ On the left, far over the Syrian desert, are the 
Euphrates and the Tigris, which, taking their rise in 
Armenia, run into the Persian Gulf, and, as they flow, 
enclose the country called Mesopotamia (‘between the 
rivers’), On the banks of these rivers, men first associated 
themselves in organized communities; on the Euphrates 
rose the city of Babylon, and on the Tigris, the city of 
Nineveh. 

Between the Euphrates and the table-land east of Jordan, 
is the great Syrian desert ; southward, Arabia Petra (the 
rocky), including the’ peninsula of Sinai and the land of 
Edom (Mount Seir), with Petra as its capital. Southward 
still, and reaching to the Indian Ocean and the Persian 
Gulf, is Arabia the fruitful, including ‘Sheba’ (‘Seba’ was 
in Africa on the opposite side of the Red Sea), whence 
(or through which) came the gold and spice of Eastern 
story. 

Southwards, below Hermon, lies PALestine ; having on its 
northern seaboard Pheenicia (‘ the coasts of Tyre and Sidon’), 
and, on its southern, Philistia, To the east there extends 
the wide, but undefined region of Syria (Aram, the highland), 
including Aram-Damassek, ‘Syria of Damascus,’ Aram- 
Zobah, ‘Syria of Zobah,’ Aram-Naharaim or Mesopotamia, 
‘Syria of the Two Rivers,’ and Paddan-Aram, the ‘ Plain 
of Syria.’ Through the whole of Palestine run two moun- 
tain ridges, that on the left being lost in the Red Sea, that 
on the right in the peninsula of Sinai, the scene of the — 
wanderings of the Israelites during forty years, : 

To the west of this latter region we find Eeypr, | | 

Beyond the plain which stretches away to the left is the 
ancient and famous city of Damascus; on the right are 
the blue tideless waters of the Mediterranean, connecting — 
the traffic of Europe with the marts of the East; and in 
succession, Cyprus, Crete, Malta, and Sicily—‘the isles 


GEOGRAPHY: PALESTINE 279 


of the sea.’ Of these, Cyprus is the only one visible from 
this point, far over the waste of water—the outpost of the 
western Gentile lands*. If now we carry our eye in a line 
with our right hand, we look toward the coast of Asta 
Minor, whose various provinces are mentioned in the Acts, 
Westward, across the Aigean Sea, is Hellas, or Greece 
(‘Achaia’), having Macedonia on the north, and Thrace on 
the north-east. From Macedonia, Illyricum stretches away to 
the north-west. Across the Adriatic is the port of Brundi- 
sium (Brindisi), in Italy, whence a route over the Apennine 
Hills conducts to Romer, on their western side. Thence 
over the Alps, or, by the Gulf of Genoa, France (Gaul) is 
reached; and from France, over the Pyrenees, is the way 
to Sparn, and, proceeding southwards, to ‘Tarshish ».’ 


168. Palestine.—Returning from these general views to 
Palestine itself, as the centre of all interest, we may enter 
into more special detail. Many passages, of both the Old 
and the New Testaments, will thus receive illustration. 


Its Names.—The country was early inhabited by the 
descendants of Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Gen 11). 
It was thence called the land of Canaan. Or, as Canaan 
signifies ‘the low region,’ the name may be used in opposi- 
tion to the highlands of Lebanon and Gilead (so Gesenius), 
as referring to the western side of Jordan only, Num 33°! 
Jos 22°7, &. From the descendants of Jacob, it was called 
the land of Israel, 1 Sa 13!° 1 Ch 22? 2Ch2!"; until thename 


* See Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, pp. 115, 406. Cyprus is the 
‘Kittim’ of the Old Testament, Num 24” Is 231-2 Jer 2! Eze 27° Dn 1132. 
Compare Ac 11/9 13*, &e. 

> The most probable identification of Tarshish is with the Tartessus 
in the south of Spain (Cadiz), the western limit of the known world. 
‘Tarsus,’ in Cilicia, has been proposed, but is untenable. ‘Ships of 
Tarshish ’ was probably a general term, indicating any ships adapted 
for long voyages (as formerly ‘ Indiaman’ in English), but not neces- 
sarily destined fot the west. See 1 Ki 22%%. 


280 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


was restricted to the northern kingdom after the Disruption. 
See 2 Ch 30?’ Eze 27". From the covenant into which God 
entered with Abraham and his posterity, it was called the 
Land of promise, Gen 12’, 13% Ex 15’ Heb 11°; and from 
the Philistines (strangers or immigrants), who inhabited its 
southern coasts, Palestine. But it is observable that this 
term is never employed in Scripture for the land as a whole. 
Where it occurs in A. V. it signifies, and should be rendered, 
Philistia, denoting simply the south-west coast. See Ex 15" 
Is 147’! Joel 3* (see R. V.), and compare Pss 60° 837 87* 
108", All these, it will be observed, are poetical passages. 

The Holy Land. Zee 2'*, the Land of Jehovah, Ho 9%, and 
the Glorious Land, Dn 11‘, are also terms employed in 
Seripture. Sometimes the country is mentioned simply as 
‘the Land,’ as Ru 1! Lu 4” 23" Jas 5". 


Its boundaries.—The boundaries of the land are vari- 
ously stated at different periods in the nation’s history. 
A distinction must also be drawn between the ideal and 
the actual extent of the territory. The promise to Abraham, 
Gen 15'§ (‘the Nile to the Euphrates’), reached its nearest 
fulfilment in the days of Solomon. North and south, the 
borders of Israel were from time to time affected by its 
amicable or hostile relations with ‘the nations round about.’ 
Westwards, the Mediterranean, and eastwards, the great 
Syrian desert, gave distinct lines of demarcation. 


It is very noticeable that in Hebrew the usual name for the west 
was ‘sea’ (0, yam). For south, the word was generally négeb (222, ‘dry’ 
or ‘parched ’), denoting the character of the region. Sometimes, also, 
the south was expressed by a name signifying ‘at the right hand,’ 
dependent on the usage of the word for east, gédem, signifying ‘ front,’ 
the spectator being regarded as having his face towards the sun-rising. 
The north was the ‘hidden’ or ‘dark’ quarter (fs@phén). Hence the 
‘points of the compass’ with the Israelites were literally Gloom, Dry- 
land, Front, and Sea. 


The familiar phrase ‘from Dan to Beer-sheba’ (in 


GEOGRAPHY: PALESTINE 281 


Chronicles ‘Beer-sheba to Dan’) occurs in nine passages: 
Judg 20! (a gathering of the tribes), 1 Sa 37° (extent of the 
prophet’s fame), 2 Sa 3!° 17! 247-5 and 1 Ch 21? (David’s 
dominion), 1 Ki 47° (Solomon’s dominion), 2 Ch 30° (Heze- 
kiah’s summons). Dan, in these passages, is in the region 
at the foot of Hermon, with its chief city of the same name 
_ (or Laish). Beer-sheba is the place of Seven Wells, so 
celebrated in the patriarchal history, with its immense 
pastures extending to the Negeb. 

But another specification of the northern and southern 
boundaries was in the repeated phrase, ‘ from the entrance 
(or pass) of Hamath to the brook of Egypt,’ Num 137! 
Evo re mbna? 2) Kaira? “tCh 135-2 Chigiine This: carried 
out the boundary-line considerably further in each direc- 
tion. In the north, instead of starting from the foot 
_ of Hermon, it extended to the depression between the 
northern point of Lebanon and the lower mountain range 
of Bargylas, continuing to the valley of the Orontes*. 
This depression opened up the way from the Mediterranean 
eastwards to the small but powerful kingdom of Hamath 
in the upper Orontes valley, upon the ‘north border,’ 
Num 34°; visited by the spies, Num 137!; allied with 
David, 2 Sa 8°~!*; made tributary by Solomon, 2 Ch 8'; 
subdued by Jeroboam II after a brief period of independence, 
2 Ki 14%—*8; and finally absorbed in the Assyrian empire, 
2 Ki 18 Is 10°. See Am 6%. The ‘brook of Egypt ’—the 
southern boundary (not river, as in A. V., which would mean 
the Nile)—is the Wady el-Arish, a winter torrent which 
carries the waters of the Negeb into the Mediterranean, 
about 40 miles south of Gaza. 

» An older explanation, now generally abandoned, is that the 
‘entering in of Hamath’ was in the Lebanon yalley, or Ccele-Syria, 
at the watershed formed by the screen of hills across the plain between 
the Orontes to the north and the Leontes (Litany) to the south. See 


Robinson, Biblical Researches, Appendix, vol. iii, for a convincing discus- 
sion of the subject. 





282 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Care must be taken to distinguish between the various words trans- 
lated ‘river’ in the Old Testament (A.V.). The Hebrew 193, nahdr, 
denotes a perennial river, as the Euphrates; and the ‘ river of Egypt,’ 
where this word is used, is the Nile (see Gen 15"). But 73, ndchdl, 


may stand for a mountain-torrent, partly or wholly dried up in 
summer, or for the valley down which such a torrent flows (in Arabic, 
wady). The Kishon, the Kidron, the Arnon, the Jabbok, and many 
smaller yalley-streams, are denoted by this word. So the ‘brook of 
Egypt’ (as the R. V. reads in 1 Ki 8 2 Ki 247 1 Ch 13° 2 Ch 78 Eze 48°) 
was the extreme south boundary of the Land of Promise. The dis- 
tance from Dan to Beersheba was 143 miles, that from the entrance to 
Hamath to the brook of Egypt 277. The breadth of western Palestine, 
from Jordan to the Mediterranean, averages about 50 miles, so that 
the country was about the size of Wales. 


169. Its main divisions.—The divisions and chief 
features of Palestine may be most clearly shown by a rough 
parallel arrangement ®, thus :— 











Nortu. 
me | 2. a: 4- 5: 
THE SEA. SEABOARD Piarn.) Mountain VALLEY oF | Beyonp 
REGIONS. THE JoRDAN. | JoRDAN. 
(Mediterra- | Akka Galilee Waters of 
nean,) | (Carmel). ‘| (Esdraelon). Merom. Bashan 
| Sharon. Mount Lake of and 


The Shephélah. Ephraim. Gennesaret. | Gilead ~ 
| Judzea—Hill | The Salt Sea. | (Perea). 
country. The Arabah, 
Judzea— 
| Wilderness. 


Notes on the above Table. 


1. The unbroken coast.—The great characteristic of the Palestinian 
seaboard is its unbroken character—an almost straight line without 
creeks or harbours. This tended greatly to isolate the land; it was 
‘shut in’ by the sea. 

2. The Western Plain.—This great level extended southwards 
from the Phenician frontier to the promontory of Carmel—then along 


* See Dr. George Adam Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land, 
Pp. 49 


GEOGRAPHY : PALESTINE 283 


the flowery vale of Sharon to the Shephélah or ‘lowland,’ the Philis- 
tian plain, stretching inland in a series of low hills to the foot of the 
Judean mountains. The word shephélah (‘ plain’ A.V., ‘lowland’ 
R. V.) is applied to this region in 1 Ch 2778 2 Ch 9?’ Jer 177° Ob ¥° 
Zee 7". 

3. The Highland Region.—The Galilean highlands (the ‘moun- 
tains of Naphtali’)—limestone hills, rocky, often flat-topped, with 
innumerable clefts and precipices—descend on the south to the Plain 
or Valley of Jezreel (in the later Greek form of the word, Esdraelon®), 
an irregular triangle, with its base on the eastern side, about 15 miles, 
its north side below the Galilean hills 12 miles, and its south side 18, 
its apex being near the sea where the Kishon, ‘that ancient river,’ 
Judg 571, which drains the valley, forces its way through a gorge 
below Carmel. This plain was the great battle-field of Palestine. 
Here the Canaanite hosts were defeated by Barak, and the ‘ Amalek- 
ites, Midianites, and children of the east’ by Gideon (Judg 6°§ 77*-"1), 
Here also, on Mount Gilboa, Saul and Jonathan fell before the Philis- 
tines (1 Sa 31 1 Ch 10), and at Megiddo Josiah was defeated and slain 
by Pharaoh-Necho, 2 Ki 23”°. To this region belong some of the most 
famous Bible lyrics—the Song of Deborah, the Elegy of David, and the 
lamentations of ‘the singing men and singing women of Judah’ at 
Hadad-Rimmon (Zee 12") over their pious hero-king. Such events 
were to the Apocalyptic seer a type of the final world-conflict between 
good and evil to be fought out at Har-Magedon (R. V.), ‘the mountain 
of Megiddo,’ Rev 16'6 Around this famous plain were places of 
familiar name. Tabor and Gilboa were its outstanding hiils, making 
the base-line of the triangle ; and among its towns and villages were 
Shunem and En-dor, Cana, Nain, and Nazarernu. 

Beyond this plain to the south rises Mount Ephraim, the name not 
of a single eminence, but of an irregular range of hills, interspersed 
with fertile plains. Among these, the vale of Shechem, between the 
rocky uplands of Ebal and Gerizim, is pre-eminent. The beautiful 
Tirzah, and Samaria, with its ‘crown of pride,’ were successively the 
chief places of this part of the land; its sanctuaries were Bethel and 
Shiloh. 

Southwards, again, with scarcely a break or mark of division, the 
mountains of Samaria merge into the more precipitous and rugged 
hills of Judea, Among them, in a position of unique strength, 
stands the mountain-city of JERUSALEM. 

A graphic description may here be quoted :—‘ At a point exactly 
opposite to the extreme north of the Dead Sea, i.e. due west from it, 


2 Judith 3° 4°. But the LXX generally transliterates the Hebrew 
word as ‘Ie(pana. 


284 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


where the mountain ridge has an elevation of about 2,710 feet, and 
close to the saddle of the ridge, a very remarkable feature of this 
rocky process, so to call it, occurs. The appearance is as if a single 
but vast wave of the sea of rock, rising and swelling gradually from 
north to south, had been suddenly checked in its advance, and, after 
a considerable subsidence below the general level, left standing per- 
fectly isolated from the surrounding mass, both as to its front and 
sides. Add that about the middle of this wave there is a slight depres- 
sion, channelling it from north-west to south-east, and you have 
before you the natural limestone rock which forms the site of 
Jerusalem®*.’ For Divisions 4 and 5 see §§ 172, 173. 

170. Jerusalem.—The Tel el-Amarna letters give the 
form Ierusalim, ‘ City of Salim’ or ‘of peace.” The name of 
the city, in the days of Abraham, was Salem », and it was 
called Jebus at the time of Israel’s entrance on the Holy 
Land‘. Its Jewish name was perhaps suggested by these 
facts, and means ‘ the foundation of peace.’ Part of the city 
belonged to Benjamin, and part to Judah. The name of 
Jerusalem first appears Jos 10. A deep valley surrounds 
three sides, the valley of Jehoshaphat, through which the 
brook Kidron flows, on the east ; and Hinnom, in a rocky 
gorge on the south and west. Beyond the valleys are lofty 
hills ; so that the city is not easily visible till the traveller 
is near it. The soil is very stony, and the country round is 
dry and barren. : 

The extent of the city differed at different times. It was 
largest at the time of its final overthrow by Titus. It then 
included Zion, Acra, Moriah, and Bezetha. Zion, the ancient 
stronghold of the Jebusites, was on the south-western side 
of the city; and immediately north of it was Acra. Zion 
was the higher of the two (2,550 feet above the sea-level) ; 
the part of Jerusalem which was built upon it was called 
the upper city, and the part built on Acra, the lower. They 
were divided by a high wall, first erected by David, who 
resided on Mount Zion. The name of Zion was often used 


® Christian Remembrancer, new series, vol. xviii. pp. 425, 426. 
> Gen 14)5 (Ps 767). © Jos 15° 18°78 Judg 19!" 


GEOGRAPHY : JERUSALEM 285 


in later times to denote the whole of Jerusalem, Pss 87? 149 
Is 331420, &c. 

Moriah (where it is generally held that Abraham was 
about to offer Isaac, when the angel stayed his hand) lay to 
the east of Acra, and was the site of the Temple. The 
valley between it and Acra was nearly filled up, that access 
to the Temple might be more easy. With Zion, Moriah 
was connected by a bridge and terrace. It is now the site 
of the Mosque of Omar. To the north was the hill Bezetha, 
which Agrippa joined to the city. . The whole circumference 
of the walls was, at the time of their greatest extent, about 
4 miles (33 stadia, Josephus, Wars, v. 4, § 3). The total 
extent of the modern walls is between 2}.and 2} miles. The 
population in 1899 was about 28,600 (Moslems 7,700, Chris- 
tians 10,900, Jews 10,000). 
_ Tothe east of Jerusalem, across the valley of Jehoshaphat, 

lay the Mount of Olives. This valley has been for more 
than 3,000 years, and is to the present day, used as 
a burial-place. 

In the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) the Jews had once 
worshipped Moloch, and offered to it in sacrifice their own 
children. When Josiah recalled them to the worship of the 
true God, the valley was made the receptacle for the filth of 
the city, and for the bodies of criminals who had been exe- 
cuted, 2 Ki 23'° 2 Ch 28°. To consume these substances 
fires were kept continually burning, and hence the place 
was used as an emblem of future punishment, Mt 5”. On 
the south declivity of the valley lay the Potter’s Field, after- 
wards called, from the circumstances of its purchase, the 
Field of Blood. 


At the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, a.pD. 70, more than 
a million of the Jews perished, and 97,000 were taken prisoners. 
About sixty years afterwards, the Jews, who had begun to gather 
round their ancient home, were all banished, their return prohibited 
on pain of death, and the site of the Temple ploughed up. Several 
hundred years afterwards, the city was again rebuilt. In 614 the 


ae a Sens 


286 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Persians captured it, and 90,000 Christians were slain. Im 637 it was 
taken by the Saracens, who kept it till 1079, when the Turks became 
its masters. Its modern name in Arabic is el-Kuds, ‘The Holy.’ 

After the capture of Jerusalem by Titus, many oi the Jews removed 
to Tiberias, which was long the chief seat of their literature and 
learning. 

The Southern Hill-country.—Southward of the Holy 
City, the hill-country continues to Beruiexnem (6 miles), with 
its terraced slopes leading down to cornfields and pastures ; 
then, 14 miles further, to Hebron (or Kirjath-Arba), one of 
the most ancient cities in the world, in its mountain valley, 
near the vineyards of Eshcol. Here was the grove of Mamre, 
Abraham’s Amorite friend, where the patriarch conversed 
with angels: here, too, is Machpelah, the burial-place of 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their wives—one of the 
Bible sites that are positively known*. Hebron and its 
neighbourhood form one of the most fertile and beautiful 
districts in southern Palestine. 

Twenty-five miles further south is Beer-sheba, also famed 
in patriarchal history. Two out of the wells there are stil] 
in use. The hills of Judea here sink into the arid levels 
of the Negeb: and ‘the South’ is the natural boundary 
of the land. 


171. Character of the highland region.— From northern 
to southern Palestine the highland region presents almost 
uniform characteristics. From the Plain of Esdraelon the 
hills to the south continue gradually rising, till at Jerusalem 
we reach a height, above the surface of the Dead Sea, of 
3,900 feet. South of Jerusalem they reach a still greater 
height : eastward, the country falls rapidly, so that Jericho, 
which is but 20 miles from Jerusalem, is 3,406 feet below 
it: so accurate is the description given in the Bible, Lu 10° 
Jn 7° Ac 241. Compare Gen 26? 46°. 

* See Stanley’s Jewish Church, vol. i, Appendix, for a description of 


the visit paid to the mosque that covers the burial cave in 1862, in 
company with the Prince of Wales (King Edward VII). 


GEOGRAPHY : PALESTINE 287 


Many of these mountains abound in caverns. Their sides 
afford large sheep-walks (Am 1”), and the plains which are 
found on the summits of some are covered with corn. In the 
erevices of the rocks, and wherever there was any depth of 
earth, the olive flourished, and the fig. In peaceful times 
the hills were terraced with earth carefully banked up and 
_ renewed every year after the winter floods, so that where now 
the mountain-sides are bare and desolate there once were 
fertility and beauty. The vales were most luxuriant and 
fruitful, and the very deserts were largely formed of ex- 
tensive pasture-land, unfit for the plough, but rich in grass 
and timber. The products of all climes were thus found in 
Palestine, and upon the same range of hills were often 
growing the fig and date of the tropics, with the oak and 
fir of the temperate zone. Watercourses were innumerable. 
East and west the torrents descended in the rainy season, 
the water being stored in reservoirs or ‘cisterns’ for summer 
use. In many places were fountains of ‘living’ or ‘ spring- 
ing’ water—a priceless boon! Such a fountain was called 
hy, ayin, ‘eye,’ a word which appears in local names as En— 
‘En-gedi,’ ‘En-gannim,’ ‘En-rogel.’ Distinguished from this 
is the Bé’er (183), a well or pit excavated in favourable situa- 
tions to catch and store the water from whatever source. 
Thus the natural features of the land were eminently 
adapted to the circumstances of the Chosen People, exactly 
corresponding to the description of the Bible—‘a good land, 
a land of brooks of water, that spring out of the valleys and 
hills.’ 

The Wilderness of Judah.—The hill-country of Judah, 
east and south of Jerusalem, passes into what is appro- 
priately called ‘the wilderness.’ The limestone rocks become 
more rugged and precipitous, abounding in caverns. There 
is little vegetation of any kind, petty wandering tribes are 
its only inhabitants, with a few shepherds who roam with 
their flocks in search of the scanty herbage. Wild goats and 


: ‘See 


288 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE > 


the ‘conies’ of the rocks here find their dwelling-place. This 
region is mentioned in Scripture Judg 1¥® From Jos 15% 
it would appear that it had at one time a settled population. 
It was the scene of David’s wanderings, the ‘Carmel’ on 
the western fringe of the district being the abode of the 
churlish Nabal, and En-gedi on the east, with its cave and 
fountain, the meeting-place on a memorable occasion between 
David and Saul. 

Masada, to the south of En-gedi, on the shore of the Dead Sea, was 
oecupied as a stronghold by Jonathan Maccabeeus, and became in later 
days more memorable from a fearful tragedy at the close of the war 
under Titus. See Josephus, Wars, vii. 9, §1. Some part of this wilder- 
ness, it has been generally believed, was the scene of our Lord’s 
Temptation, tradition pointing to a mountain about 7 miles north- 
west of Jericho, called Quarantana, from the Latin word signifying forty. 

172. 4. The Jordan Valley. The valley, or rather the 
deep gorge, of the Jordan forms the boundary of western 
Palestine. The ordinary word for river, nahar, is never 
applied to it in Scripture: it is always and only ‘ Jordan’ 
(Yardén), or ‘the Jordan®,’ the Descender, as the word in 
Hebrew means. No name, indeed, could be more appro- 
priate. Its remoter source is in a fountain of ‘the Valley 
of Lebanon’ (Ccele-Syria), where, under the name of the 
Hasbany, it flows southward until it encounters the streams 
from the sides of Hermon above Dan and Cxsarea Philippi 
(Banias); two localities often identified, as by Dr. G. A. Smith. 
Thence by the ‘Waters of Merom’ (el-Hileh), the marshy 
lake» near which northern Palestine was won, Jos 115~°, it 
flows to the Lake of Chinnereth or -oth (perhaps ‘harp- 
shaped ’), Num 34'! Jos 11? 12° 1 Ki 15*°); in the N.T. the Sea 
of Galilee (124 miles by 8), or ‘of Tiberias,’ or ‘ L. of Genne- 
saret’—so memorable in the Gospel history. Before reach- 
ing this lake the Jordan has already begun to ‘descend,’ the 

* Always with the definite article, except Job 4o*8 Ps 42°, 

b See Maegregor’s Rob Roy on the Jordan for a vivid description of 
this lake, with its vast growth of the papyrus-plant. 


GEOGRAPHY: THE JORDAN VALLEY 289 


surface level being 680 feet below that of the Mediterranean. 
From the outlet of the lake it pursues its swift, muddy, 
generally shallow course until it loses itself in the Dead Sea, 
called in Scripture the ‘Sea of the Plain,’ Dt 4*° 2 Ki 14°, 
the ‘Salt Sea,’ Dt 3!” Jos 3'° 123, and the ‘East Sea,’ Joel 27° 
Eze 47!5 Zec 148. The name by which it is now generally 
known does not occur in Scripture or in any of the ancient 
Jewish writers. The Arabs generally call it Bahr Lit, the 
‘Lake of Lot.’ 


The distance between the Lake of Galilee and the Salt Sea is, in 
a straight line, 65 miles, but the many windings of the Jordan make 
the whole length of the river about 200 miles. As the surface of the 
Salt Sea is 1,292 feet below that of the Mediterranean, the total descent 
in that distance is somewhat more than 600 feet. The width of the 
river varies from 45 to 180 feet. Its margin on both sides is filled by 
an alluvial deposit on which tropical vegetation rankly flourishes. In 
time of haryest (April) the melting snows from the Lebanon swell the 
' stream to a great width and depth, dislodging wild animals from their 
lairs by the bank and driving them into the higher country. 

The Salt Sea, 16 miles from Jerusalem, overhung by barren 
mountains, which rise precipitously from a lonely, desolate shore, 
received that name from the mineral matters which it holds in solu- 
tion, and which give to its waters a specific gravity of from 20 to 
25 per cent. greater than that of sea-water. No form of organized 
life can survive in its depths, and the fish carried down to it 
from the Jordan immediately die. To these facts many travellers’ 
fables have been added, as that birds cannot fly over it, nor wild 
animals live upon its shores. The sea has no outlet ; the waters of the 
Jordan, as well as of the wadys that descend from the surrounding 
hills (six millions of tons per day, it is estimated), are carried off by 
the enormous evaporation. 


The Arabah.—South of the Salt Sea, a steep and rocky 
track, identified by some with the ‘ Ascent of Akrabbim,’ 
or ‘Scorpion Pass,’ leads to the great desert plateau of 
which the Wilderness of Zin, west of the Edemite Mount 
Seir, forms a part. Known as the Arabah, and extending 
to the Gulf of Akaba on the Red Sea, it was the ‘ Plain’ 
along which the Israelites in the last year of their wanderings 
made their toilsome way. 

U 


=) 
ee! 
SP 


290 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


It may be noted that different words are translated ‘ Plain’ in the 
A.V. of the Old Testament. Thus, Gen 12° 14%, and similar passages, 
the word (’elon) is ‘oak’ or ‘terebinth tree’: in Dt 3% Jos 13" it is 
more correctly ‘table-land’ (mishor): in Dt 1’? 1 Sam 23%, and many 
other passages, it is Arabah as above; and in 1 Ch 27% Ob ™, &e. it is 
Shephélah, or ‘lowland,’ as previously noted, § 169. For the most part, 
the R. V. makes these distinctions clear. See Young’s Analytical Con- 
cordance for the passages. 


173. 5. Beyond Jordan. The region east of Jordan, 
between the river and the Syrian desert, comprised in its 
northern portion the fertile territory of Bashan, an un- 
dulating and well-watered table-land between two mountain 
ranges. It is mostly of volcanic rock; the pulverized lava 
being an excellent foundation for pasture land. Hence the 
cattle of Bashan became proverbial for size and strength. 

In the north-east of this region was the extraordinary district of 
Argob—afterwards Trachonitis, ‘the rough country,’ in Arabic Lejah, 
‘the Retreat’; a mass of basaltic rock 22 miles by 14, studded with 
towns and large villages. See x Ki 4% Many of these remain, 
although in ruins*. The territory was assigned to the ‘half tribe of 
Manasseh,’ a pastoral people. With Ephraim, it cast in its lot with 
the Northern Kingdom at the time of the Disruption : but was subject 
to the incursions of Syria (2 Ki 10%’), and became largely infected with 
the idolatry of its heathen neighbours. It was among the first of the 
tribes to be taken captive by Assyria (1 Ch 5°), and so vanishes from 
history. Bashan was subsequently divided into the districts of 


Batanea (from the original name), Trachonitis, Auranitis (the Hauran, 
afterwards Iturwa), and Gaulanitis (Golan, Jos 20°), 


South of Bashan were the verdant hills and rich pastures 
of Gilead, held by the tribe of Gad until the Assyrian inva- 
sion. At Ramoth-gilead was the battle-field where Ahab 
fell. The territory was watered by the Jabbok. This region 
embraced the greater part of the Peraea—the ‘ beyond Jordan ° 
of the gospel history. 


Still south, and extending along the upper eastern shore — 
of the Dead Sea, rose the mountain fastnesses of Moab, to 


* See Porter’s Giant Cities of Bashan. Many of these remains, it is 
now proved, are Roman ; but primeval relics are yet traceable. 





yee ey 


GEOGRAPHY: DIVISIONS OF CANAAN 291 


the east of which lay broad pasture and forest lands. Among 
these mountain heights were Peor, from which Balaam 
surveyed the ‘goodly tents’ of Israel, and Pisgah, whence 
Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death. The 
region was allotted to the tribe of Reuben; and the river 
Arnon, by which it was bounded, was the southern frontier 
of the Holy Land. To the watercourses which fertilized the 
country, and the indisposition of the prosperous settlers to 
warlike enterprise, Deborah refers in her triumphal ode on 
the defeat of the Canaanites, Judg 51° (see R. V.). 

Beyond the Arnon, on the south, the Moabite territory was 
diminished by the conquests under Joshua; becoming alternately 
independent and tributary to Israel. The famous ‘Moabite stone’ 
was discovered at Dibon, in the Reubenite country. The Ammonites, 
whose diminished kingdom lay between Mount Gilead, with the 
Reubenite territory, on the west, and the Great Desert on’the east, for 
. some time maintained a precarious existence, but were finally amalga- 
mated with the general Arab population. So with the Edomites 
or Idumezans, between the wilderness of Judza and the Sinaitic 
peninsula. 


174. Successive Inhabitants of Canaan: Political 
Divisions.—The Canaanites, at the dawn of their history, 
seem to have formed ten nations. They afterwards dwindled 
to seven, Gen 15!5-*! Dt 7!; of whom the Amorites were 
the most powerful, their name being sometimes used for the 
whole, Gen 15!°. The Philistines, Moabites, Midianites, 
Ammonites, and the children of Amalek and Edom, were 
residing, when the Israelites entered Canaan, in its immediate 
vicinity, and some of them within its borders. 

Joshua divided the country into twelve parts, giving one 
to each tribe ;, Ephraim and Manasseh being reckoned among 
the tribes, and Levi having his portion among the rest. 

In the North dwelt Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar : after- 
wards ‘ Galilee of the Gentiles,’ and Galilee proper. 

In the Middle) Ephraim and half of Manasseh : afterwards ‘ Samaria.’ 

In the Souih,/Judah, Benjamin, Dan, and Simeon: afterwards 


‘Judza.’ 
U2 





292 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Beyond Jordan, Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh: afterwards 
‘Perea,’ Kc. 

Under the reign of Solomon, the kingdom was greatly extended, 
and the distinction of tribes became less marked. The whole of 
his territory was therefore divided afresh into twelve districts, each 
under its own officer, 1 Ki 47". 

On the death of Solomon, ten tribes revolted from his son 
Rehoboam, and formed the kingdom of Israel, of which 
Sychar, or Shechem, was at first the capital, afterwards Tirzah 
(x Ki 15°° 167°), until Omri built Samaria (1 Ki 16%). The 
tribes of Benjamin and Judah, with parts of Dan and 
Simeon, formed the kingdom of Judah, whose chief city was 
Jerusalem. This division ceased, however, on the over- 
throw of the kingdom of Israel by Sargon the Assyrian, 
after it had continued for about 220 years, The southern 
kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians under Nebuchad- 
nezzar about 120 years afterwards, and the people were 
earried into captivity, which endured until the subjugation 
of Babylon by Cyrus, when permission was given to return. 
Syria and Palestine now remained a province of Persia 
until the conquests of Alexander, after the division of whose 
empire among his generals Palestine became subject to the 
rulers of Egypt and Syria in turn. Then followed the 
period of the Maccabeans and the final conquest by 
the Romans. See Part II, Ch. XVII. 

From the Captivity onwards, the term Israel was applied to the 
surviving part of the whole nation, who were also called Jews, or 
Judzans, without regard to the old tribal distinctions. The name of 
Judeea as applied to the country is first found Ezr 5§ Dn 5. 

In the time of our Lord, Palestine, a Roman proconsulate 
under the governor of Syria, comprised five divisions: 
(1) Galilee, which included most of the scenes of His personal 
ministry, and whence most of His disciples were chosen, 
Is 9! Mt 2725 Lu 4'* Mt 26° 28716 This district was 
despised by the Jews because of its distance from Jerusalem, 
its connexion with the Samaritans, and the impurity of the 


GEOGRAPHY: PALESTINE 293 


dialect spoken by the people, Mk 147°. (2) Samaria, which 
included the middle division of the kingdom, and separated 
Galilee from Juda, Jn 4%. (3) Judxa, which was nearly 
co-extensive with the ancient kingdom of Judah. (4) The 
district of Persea (or beyond Jordan), which included Abilene, 
where Lysanias was tetrarch, Lu 31, Trachonitis, Iturza or 
- the Hauran ®, Gaulanitis >, Batanza (the ancient Bashan, but 
less extensive), Perzea proper (between the Arnon and the 
Jabbok), where John was beheaded, and Decapolis (or the 
district of the Ten Cities). (5) Idumeza, a province which 
was added by the Romans. It comprised the extreme south 
parts of Judza, with a small part of Arabia. 

It will facilitate the study of sacred Scripture to note the divisions 


of the country and the changes of the government in the time of 
our Lord. 





Dominions of Herod the Great, from B.c. 37 to B.c. 3. 





Judea, Galilee, Trachonitis 
Samaria, Idumea. Perzea Proper. and Iturza. 


Revenue, 400 talents} Revenue, 200 talents. | Revenue, too talents. 
(about one million 


sterling). 
These he bequeaths to} These he bequeaths to|These he bequeaths 
his son, his son, to his son, 


Archelaus, who is ba-| Herod Antipas, who be- | Philip Herod (Jn 4). 
nished, and the pro- headed John. 
vince is put under 
procurators,of whom 
one of the chief was 


Pontius Pilate, a.p. 7| Herod Antipas  ba-| Philip dies (37). 
to 36 (dies 36). nished (40). | 


Herod Agrippa (grandson of Herod) made king of the whole 
(Ac I2) a. D. 41-44. 











| Agrippa (son of H. 

Procurators : Fadus ;| Agrippa), tetrarch of Trachonitis, is made 

Alexander ; Venti-|tetrarch of Galilee also. Paul pleads before 
dius ; Felix ; Festus. | him at Casarea (Ac 25, 26). 





* 1 Ch 1* (from Jetur) ; Eze 47°18 Hauran. > Jos 208, 


3 





ae 


| . 
294 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE © 


In later times these divisions have undergone various changes. In 
the fifth century a. p. the country was divided into three parts: Judwa 
and Samaria; Galilee and Trachonitis; Perw#a and Idumzxa. In the 
time of the Crusades episcopal sees were established in the principal 
cities. Under the modern Turkish authority, the whole country is 
divided between the pachaliks, or governments, of Beyrout, Damascus, 
and Jerusalem. 


175. Climate of Palestine. Under Physical Geography 
are included climate, weather, seasons, &¢.; and a knowledge 
of these will often throw light on Seripture. 

The heat of the climate of Judea in summer is intense, 
and frequently proves fatal. Near Mount Tabor, many 
soldiers of the army of Baldwin IV died from this cause 
(a. D. 1186), at the very place (Shunem) where the child 
died in the days of Elisha, 2 Ki 4'8~?°. How impressive 
the figure of the prophet, ‘A man shall be as the shadow 
of a great rcck in a weary land’! Is 32%. 

During the summer there is no rain in Palestine (hence 
the marvel recorded 1 Sa 12!"); but in the evening the 
mist (called ‘dew’ in A.V.) falls heavily and suddenly, often 
wetting the incautious traveller to the skin. It is as suddenly 
dried up on the following morning. Compare with this fact 
the following passages, Ps 133° Ho 6* 14° 2 Sa 17" Pr 3”. 


The early rains fall in the month of Tisri (Sept.—Oct.), replenishing 
‘the streams in the south’ (Ps 126‘); the latter rains, in the month 
Nisan (Mar.-Apr.). The former quickened the seed, the latter filled 
the ears. It was at the time of the Passover, when the Jordan had 
been swollen by the early rains, that the Israelites crossed the Jordan, 
Jos 3. Compare the CaLenpar, § 216. 


Philo tells us that there are no rains in Egypt; and it 
is certain that rain in that country is exceedingly rare *. 
Hence the evidence of the miracle mentioned Ex g'*~*8, 
and the hardness of heart displayed by Pharaoh in resisting 
the message of Moses. 


= Zee 14}8, 


GEOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL. 295 


Rain is generally preceded by a squall of wind. Compare 
ai 3's." and Pras". 


Winds.—The east wind of Palestine is very hurtful to 
vegetation. In winter it is dry and cold, and in summer 
dry and hot. It carries off the moisture of the leaves too 
rapidly, and withers them*. When it sweeps over the 
Mediterranean it is peculiarly dangerous’. It was this 
wind—Euroclydon, or Euro-aquilo (east by north), called by 
sailors ‘ Levanter’—which proved so fatal to the ship in 
which Paul sailed*. The west wind brings showers, and, 
after a long drought, heavy rain‘. The north wind is cold 
and drying®. The south wind brings heat! and whirlwinds. 

Compare Is 17° Ho 13° Mt 77". 


Wells.— The value of wells in the East can be fully 
_ appreciated only by those who know the scarcity of water 
in the summer season. These wells were a source of strife 
between Abimelech and Isaac, Gen 26!15~*! ; and Moses com- 
memorates God’s bounty in giving the Israelites wells 
which they digged not, Dt 6'1. 


Travellers crossing the deserts sometimes go as much as 80 miles 
without finding water. The wells are often very deep, many of them 
160 feet, and then filled only with rain-water. In going to Jerusalem 
the devout Israelites went from strength to strength, the rain filling 
the pools, Ps 84°. The comparison of false teachers to wells without 
water is thus seen to be peculiarly just; bitterly disappointing the 
hopes of their hearers, 2 Pet 217. The mirage, or glowing watery 
appearance of distant sand, is also a figure expressive of disappoint- 
ment. Camels and travellers are both deceived, and when they reach 
what seemed a sheet of water they find burning dust. See Is 35’ 
Job 6 Jer 15!§ marg. 


Temperature of the nights.—Between the days and 
nights of Europe, there is no very great difference as to 
the qualities of heat and cold. In the Kast it is quite 


® Gen 41° Eze 17!° 19!* Ho ral. > Ps 487. © Ac 278-14, 
4 Tu 1254 r Ki 1844-45, e Pr 2573 Job 37°22. f Lu 12°5 Zee ol, 






. eo 
¥. 


296 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE | 


otherwise. In the height of summer the nights are often 
as cold as at Paris in the month of March, and the days 
seorchingly hot. Compare Gen 31*? and Jer 36°° Is 49%” 
Rev 7'°. 


176. Applications of Geographical facts.—A know- 
ledge of geography will often explain and reconcile the 
statements of the Bible, show the beauty and truthfulness 
of particular passages, confirm the authenticity of the 
narrative by the accuracy of the local colouring, and bring 
out the sense which might otherwise remain concealed. 


Local characteristics yield many an allusion and figure to the 
poetry of Scripture: thus ‘the glory of Lebanon,’ the noble cedar 
forests ; ‘ the excellency of Carmel,’ its wide-spreading woods; ‘and 
of Sharon,’ the profusion of spring flowers; ‘the pride of Jordan’ 
(A. V. ‘ swelling’), the luxuriant and brilliant jungle-growth upon its 
banks affording many a lurking-place for wild beasts. See Is 35° 60% 
Jer 12° 49'*, and the Psalms throughout. Note especially the prayer 
of the returning exiles: ‘Turn again our captivity as the streams in 
the South,’ the watercourses of the Negeb refilled after the summer 
drought. With regard to ‘the South’ it may also be noted that it so 
completely became the designation of a certain region that it was not 
incongruous to speak of going to the South when in fact the journey 
was northward. So with the spies, Num 131-22, 

The word ‘sea’ is often applied in Scripture to great rivers. The 
Nile is so called, Nah 3°, where the prophet is speaking of No-Ammon or 
Thebes, the ancient capital of Egypt, built on both sides of the Nile, 
and 300 miles from the Mediterranean: see also Is 27' and Jer 51°, 
where the Euphrates is so called. The Nile is still called by this 
name, el-Bahr (the sea). It should be noted that the word ‘ coasts,’ 
as often used in the A.V., means borders or districts, Mt 2% 15°. In — 
the R.V. the word is assimilated to modern usage; as ‘borders,’ — 
‘regions,’ &&. In Matthew, Mark, and John the Lake of Gennesaret is : 
spoken of as ‘the Sea of Galilee.’ Luke (5') has the more correct 
designation, ‘ lake.’ 

In Is 28! Samaria is called ‘the crown of pride,’ and her glory is 
compared to the fading flower of the drunkard. The custom referred 
to in this passage (which is also mentioned in Wisd 27) is that of 
wearing chaplets in seasons of festivity. Samaria, moreover, was 
built on the top of a round hill, and the fact suggested the appropriate 
image of a wreath of flowers bound round the head of the drunkard. 


HELPS FROM GEOGRAPHY 297 


The chief city of Edom (Sela) is described, with equal truth, as 
dwelling in the clefts of the rock, and holding the height of the hill, 
Ob*; a most accurate description of the wondrous city of Petra, 
whose ruins were first explored in modern times by Burckhardt, in 
1812, and have been repeatedly visited since. See Palmer, Desert of 
the Exodus, vol. ii, also Robinson’s Biblical Researches, and Stanley’s Sinai 
and Palestine. 

The expression in Jn 4‘, ‘He must needs go through Samaria,’ has 
sometimes been taken to imply that the ‘needs be’ was founded upon 
the Divine purpose. The fact is, that Samaria lay in the direct route 
between Galilee and Juda ; although the longer way by the east of 
Jordan was often taken, because of the enmity between Jews and 
Samaritans. 

In the time of our Lord the Jews called all civilized nations, 
except themselves, Greeks, Ac 19!° 207! Ro 116 29-10 ro!2; as the Greeks 
ealled all, except themselves, Barbarians. Hence the woman whom 
Matthew calls a Canaanite is called by Mark a Greek and a Syro- 
pheenician, Mt 152? Mk 72°; the prefix ‘Syro-’ being intended probably 
to guard Roman readers (for whom his Gospel was designed) against 
supposing that she belonged to Carthage, a ‘ Pheenician city.’ 

On comparing Lu 24°° with Ac 1, it seems that our Lord led His 
disciples as far as Bethany; and yet He ascended from the Mount 
of Olives. In fact, the Mount of Olives has on the side of it next to 
Jerusalem the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the other side, the 
village of Bethany. The top of the mount overlooks them both, and 
the two passages are quite consistent. 

‘Asia’ means in the New Testament a small part of Asia Minor 
(known as Proconsular Asia) of which Ephesus was the capital : hence 
when the Apostle was forbidden to go into Asia, he felt himself free to 
go to Bithynia, one of the provinces of Asia Minor, Ac 2° 1 Cor 161° 
Rev 1°. 

The word ‘Grecian’ or ‘ Hellenist’ refers to Jews who for the most 
part resided out of Juda, and used the Greek language and manners, 
Ac 619°. On the reading of Acts 117" see p. 80. 


177. Glossary of Arabic local names.—In using a 
modern atlas of Palestine, the following table will be of 
use :-— 





Ain, pl. ayan—fountain. Bir—well. 
Arabah—plain, or desert. Birkeh, pl. burak—pool. 
Bab—door, gate. Burg—castle. 
Bahr—sea, or lake. Deir—convent. 


Beit, pl. buyat—house. El, en, er, &¢.—the. 





Ghér—valley between two moun- | Kurn, pl. kurén—horn. 


tains. | Merj, pl. murdj—meadow. 
Hajr—great stone. Mesjed—mosque, temple. 
Hammam —bath. Mukam—tomb of a saint. 
Jebel, pl. jebal—mountain. Nahr, pl. anhar—river. 
Jisr—bridge. Nukb—pass. 
Kabr, pl. kubair—tomb. Ras—cape, or head. 
Kefr—village. Tel, pl. telal—hill. 
Khin—inn. Wady—valley, or water-course. 
Khulat) Wely—saint’s tomb. 
Rik j —castle. 

History 


178. Value of the Study.—The history of the ‘nations 
round about’ Palestine affords copious illustration of 
Seripture, as well as remarkable confirmations of its truth. 
Difficulties have been removed, allusions explained, narratives 
supplemented, and data for a sure Bible chronology secured. — 
This branch of study has been pursued with especial success 
since the middle of the nineteenth century, aided by large 
discoveries of monumental records ; and almost every year 
adds something to the store of ascertained facts. 


Starting-point.—The starting-point in the history of 
the Chosen People is the departure of Abraham, at the 
Divine call, from ‘Ur of the Chaldees,’ that is, from his 
home in Shinar or southern Babylonia*, to Haran, and 
eventually to Palestine. The vast alluvial plain to the 
north of the Persian Gulf, surrounding the lower course 
of the Tigris and Euphrates and the confluence of these 
two rivers, was the abode of one form of early civilization, 
as Egypt was of another. In his eventful life Abraham 
became conversant with both. The main connexion, how- 
ever, of Babylon with his descendants belongs to the later 


* Now Mugheir. The older identification with Urfa or Edessa is now 
generally abandoned. 


HISTORY: EGYPT 299 


history, as will be hereafter shown. Only once we have 
a glimpse of the first Babylonian empire in Abraham’s 
day; when Amraphel, King of Shinar, with other chieftains, 
‘invaded the Holy Land, Gen 14. The monuments suggest 
the probable identification of this king with Khammurabi, 
who ruled in Babylonia before 2000 B.c. The cuneiform 
inscriptions also connect his name with that of his con- 
temporary, Eri-aku of Larsa (Arioch of Hllasar); while 
‘Chedorlaomer’ is the Elamite name Kudar-lagamar, ‘ser- 
vant of Lagamar,’ one of the principal deities of the great 
kingdom east of the lower Tigris. His name has been read 
on a tablet of Khammurabi*. It was several centuries 
before the land of Israel was again brought into connexion 
with Shinar. 


Egypt 


179. The ‘Shepherd-Kings.’— Meanwhile Eaypr became, 
in a special sense, the cradle of Israel». A notable fact throws 
much light on the patriarchal history. When Abraham 
went down into Egypt, and afterwards in the immigration 
of Jacob and his family, the country was under the hated 
rule of the Hyksos, or ‘Shepherd-Kings°,’ chiefs of an 
Arabian tribe that had vanquished the native rulers, and 
held the country for a little over 500 years. Hence the 
cordial reception at the Pharaoh’s court, first of Abraham, 
afterwards of Jacob, and the assignment to Israelites of 
a separate district, shepherds being ‘an abomination to the 
Egyptians,’ Gen 46*+. 


® See Sayce in Hastings’ Dict. Bible, vol. i. p. 375, and Monument 
Facts, ch. iv; and Prof. Driver in the Guardian, March 11, 1896. 

> See Ho 111. The history of Israel, in this aspect of it, found 
a parallel in the history of the infant Saviour, Mt 2). 

© See the fragment of Manetho in Josephus, Against Apion, i. 14. 
The occupancy of Egypt by the Hyksos is dated by Prof. Flinders 
Petrie at about B.c. 2098-1587 (History of Egypt, vol. i. (5th ed.) p. 233). 


300 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


180. The great Oppression.—The ‘new king, which 
knew not Joseph,’ Ex 1°, was one of the dynasty (numbered 
eighteenth in the history of Egypt") which succeeded the 
expulsion of the Hyksos; and the Pharaoh of the great 
oppression is shown by concurrent evidences to have been 
Ramses II (of the nineteenth dynasty), the Sesostris of the 
Greeks, the ruins of whose ‘treasure cities’ (Ex 11) 
remain to this day, bearing the recorded boast that they 
were built entirely by the labours of an alien people. The 
bricks, both with and without straw, still further illustrate 
the history ». 


It is true that, in the words of Prof. Sayce, ‘there is no direct 
mention of the Israelites in Egypt on the monuments or in the papyri, 
neither is there any representation of their servitude; but the 
references and allusions in the Bible to Egypt are perfectly accurate. 
The amu, the representatives of the Semitie race generally, are 
depicted as brick-makers, and literally hewers of wood and drawers 
of water ; hence, none need expect that every family or tribe of this 
numerous and wide-spreading race would be portrayed on the temples, 
or walls, or tombs. Also, there is no mention of the plagues which 
came upon the oppressors ; but the nations of antiquity were not given 
to chronicle the misfortunes that overtook them °.’ 


181. The Exodus and settlement in Palestine.—The 
Exodus, in all probability, took place in the reign of 
Meneptah, son and successor of Ramses“, who, in fact, 
explicitly mentions Israel—the only known instance of the 
kind on the Egyptian monuments. To what period it 
belongs is uncertain®. The interpretation of the hieroglyphs 


* The list of dynasties may be found in Brugsch, Egypt under the 
Pharaohs, also in Sayce’s Dwellers on the Nile (R. T. S.), in Prof. 
Flinders Petrie’s History of Egypt, and the various Biblical dictionaries. 
There is still some divergence in the chronology, but the tendency is 
to approximation. 

> See Sayce’s Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments, pp. 59, 60. 

© Dwellers on the Nile, pp. 93, 94- 4 See Brugsch, ch. xiii. 

° It is alleged by some to prove that Israelites were in Palestine 
before the Exodus—an unhistorical conclusion. Others suppose ‘ Israel’ 
to be a mistaken reading. 





a 


ee 


HISTORY: EGYPT 301 


is, ‘The Israelites are ruined; their crops are destroyed.’ 
After the settlement of Israel in Canaan, the relations of 
Israel and Egypt appear to have been amicable for some 
generations. It was through an Egyptian that David 
recovered the spoil from the Amalekites (1 Sa 301}~*°). Solo- 
mon had a treaty with Egypt, partly for commercial purposes 
(zr Ki 3! 107*?°); he also married an Egyptian princess, 
daughter, there is little doubt, of the last king in the twenty- 
first dynasty, Paseb-chanen. Egypt afterwards became a 
place of refuge for the disaffected, 1 Ki 1078 117 12%, The 
first king of the twenty-second dynasty, Sheshank or Shishak, 
had some cause of offence against Rehoboam, and attacked 
and plundered Jerusalem, 1 Ki 1479-2’, 2 Ch 122", 

In the inscription on the walls of the great temple at Karnak, 
Sheshank is represented in colossal proportions, dragging his captives. 
_ In the enumeration of his conquests reference is made to his suc- 
cessful invasion of Palestine, and there are sculptured figures of 
captives with Jewish features. One of these ‘bears the inscription, 
Yudeh Malk, and represents either the captive Judean kingdom or 
Rehoboam himself*.’ Prof. R. Poole’s article upon Shishak in Smith’s 
Dict. of the Bible contains a transcription of the names of the cities or 
tribes conquered, among which some have been identified as Jewish. 
See also R. C. Ball, Light from the East, pp. 131, 132. 

182. Palestine between great empires.—In later times, 
during the struggle for supremacy between Egypt and the 
great Asiatic kingdoms on the north, Palestine, lying be- 
tween, was in continual unrest. It was an intrigue with 
the Egyptian Savakha or So of the twenty-fifth dynasty 
(2 Ki 17+) that led to the downfall of Hoshea, the Israelite 
king, and to the captivity of the Ten Tribes. For many 
years the mighty struggle continued between Tirhakah 
‘the Ethiopian,’ latest king of the twenty-fifth dynasty, and 
the kings of Assyria, who for the time prevailed, Is 37° 
Nah 3°=10 2 Ki 19%. 

A remarkable monolith of the Assyrian King Esar-haddon, dis- 


* Rawlinson, Hist. Anc. Egypt, vol. ii. p. 423 (1881). 





‘y 


302 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


covered in the Taurus range (Hittite territory), represents that monarch 
with two suppliant figures at his feet, one of whom, in a kneeling 
attitude, is identified by the inscription as Tirhakah. The monument 
records the capture of Memphis (Noph), Is 19 Ho 9°, and explains 
the ‘cruel lord’ and ‘fierce king’ of Is 194 as Esar-haddon. The 
Assyrian king holds a couple of chains, each attached to a ring in the 
captives’ lips. See Is 37%. 


Egypt was again regained by Psammetichus II, of 
the twenty-sixth dynasty, who reigned fifty-four years: 
his son Neco adventured a march upon Babylon, for 
which purpose he traversed Palestine; King Josiah, re- 
sisting his progress, being defeated and slain at Megiddo. 
Neco placed Jehoiakim (Eliakim) on the Jewish throne, in 
place of Jehoahaz, the people’s choice ; but Nebuchadnezzar 
marched against the Egyptian king and inflicted upon him 
a decisive defeat at Carchemish, B.c. 605 (2 Ki 23% 2 Ch 
35°° Jer 46’). This most important event practically 
decided the fate of Egypt, which became vassal to Babylon, 
afterwards to Persia, with occasional struggles and revolts. 
The series of dynasties ended with the thirtieth ; Nectanebo 
being the last native ruler who has ever reigned over 
Egypt, so strikingly fulfilling the prediction in Eze 30™. 
Compare Eze 29" Zee 101". 


Moab 


183. Relations of Israel with Moab.—Before passing 
from the South to the great northern nations which had so 
much to do with the fortunes of Israel, reference may be 
made to Moab, a pastoral yet warlike people, with which 
the Israelites were sometimes friendly, oftener in collision. 
Ruth, ancestress of David, was a Moabitess. After the 
division of the kingdoms, Moab remained tributary to 
Israel, until after the death of Ahab. See the history in 
2 Ki 3, as strikingly illustrated by the famous Moabite 
stone, discovered at Dibon, in 1868, by the Rey. F. A. 





HISTORY: PHENICIA 303 


Klein, a missionary of the C. M.S. The stone was set up 
by the Mesha mentioned in the fourth verse as ‘a sheep 
master.’ 


The original, as restored, is in the Jewish Court of the Louvre, at 
Paris ; a facsimile is in the British Museum. Its record is supple- 
mentary to the passage in Kings referred to; it describes the successful 
revolt of Mesha and the revenge he took upon the Israelites for the 
former oppression of his country *. ‘Chemosh’ (the god), says Mesha, 
‘was angry with Moab, and Omri, King of Israel, oppressed the land 
for many days. And his son succeeded him, and he also said, I will 
oppress Moab. But I saw my desire upon him and his house, and 
Israel perished for ever.’ The tribute exacted by Ahab was no doubt 
very burdensome, ‘a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand 
rams, with the wool,’ 2 Ki S R. V. (marg.). But the boast of Mesha 
was premature ! 


Phoenicia 


184. Relations of Israel with Phenicia.— Passing 
northward, we reach Phoenicia, often termed also ‘the 
district of Tyre and Sidon.’ This country, comparatively 
small, became from its position on the seaboard and the 
convenience of its ports the great emporium of the East. 
Its people were of Hamite descent, though their language 
was Semitic. 


The Pheenicians are known pre-eminently as Canaanite: compare 
Mt 1522 ‘a Canaanitish woman’ with Mk 77°‘a Greek (or Gentile), 
a Syrophenician. The LXX renders ‘Canaan,’ ‘Canaanite’ by 
‘Pheenicia,’ ‘ Phoenician,’ in Ex 16°° Job 41%. The land was allotted 
between Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, but was never wholly occupied by 
these tribes. Its relations, however, with Israel were for the most 
part amicable. Hiram, King of Pheenicia, was ‘a lover of David,’ 
t Ki 54 The western slopes of Lebanon, belonging to Pheenicia, 
Rrniched to Solomon the cedar and other materials for the Temple 


a A full account of the stone, including text and translation, is given 
by Dr. Owen C. Whitehouse in the article Moas in Hastings’ Dict. of 
the Bible, also a full translation in Prof. A. H. Sayce’s Fresh Light from 
Ancient Monuments, and another by Prof. Driver in his Notes on the 
Hebrew Text of Samuel. A convenient popular account is given by the 
Bishop of Ossory (W. Pakenham Walsh) in The Moabite Stone, 1883. 


SOG.) 


304 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


in Jerusalem, 1 Ki 5°"? 1o**, In Pr 31°4 ‘ Canaanite’ is synonymous 
with ‘merchant’; sometimes unfair in dealing, Ho 127. In Joel 3° 
Tyre is denounced for selling Israelites into slavery, and in Am 1° 
for betraying them to Edom. These acts were breaches of the brotherly 
covenant which had existed since David's time, as no king of Israel 
or Judah ever made war against Phoenicia. During the latter part of 
Solomon's life he tolerated Phoenician idolatry, 1 Ki 115, the worship 
of Baal, afterwards established in the kingdom of Israel by Jezebel. 
Tammuz, Eze 84, was a Pheenician deity, corresponding to the Greek 
Adonis. One of the most graphic and impressive descriptions of 
ancient commerce, in its fullness of pride, is in the poem on the over- 
throw of Tyre, Eze 27. A monumental inscription of Nebuchadnezzar 
should be read as a commentary on this wonderful dirge. Tyre had 
been besieged by the Chaldean monarch for thirteen years before it 
capitulated ; the country subsequently fell under the power of Persia, 
and its ruin was completed by Alexander*. In New Testament times 
Pheenicia reappears—a Gentile land visited by our Lord, Mt 15”% 
Mk 74. Many of its inhabitants resorted to His ministry, Mk 3°, 
and in apostolic times there were Christian churches at Tyre and 
Sidon, Ac a1* 27°. 


Syria and Hamath 


185. Petty northern states.—These countries have 
already been described in the Geographical Section. Syria 
was for the most part a collection of petty states, striving 
with one another for supremacy, but with indeterminate 
results. The kingdom of Damascus was the chief; and, 
after the days of Abraham, it first appears in the Bible 
history as confederate against David with Hadadezer, King 
of Zobah (2 Sa 8°). The result was that Syria submitted to 
David; but in the days of Solomon it revolted under Rezon 
of Zobah, who also captured Damascus (1 Ki 11°3-*), From 
that time the Syrian kingdoms were independent of Israel, 
with which they had repeated wars under the ‘ Hadad’ 
dynasty, notably in the siege of Samaria, so marvellously 
frustrated (2 Ki 6, 7). 


* Students of prophecy have noted the literal fulfilment of the pre- 
diction that the rock of Tyre should become a place for ‘ the spreading 
of nets,’ Eze 26"*, 


THE HITTITE EMPIRE 305 


Hazael afterwards murdered the Syrian king and usurped the 
throne, greatly harassing Israel, but was overcome in turn by Joash 
(a Ki 1272-25), Jeroboam II followed up the advantage; and in a 
subsequent reign the Syrian kingdom under Rezin is found in alliance 
with Israel against Ahaz, King of Judah. See the remarkable passage, 
Is 7!-®. The issue of the conflict was that Ahaz invoked the aid of 
the Assyrian Tiglath-pileser against the confederate kings, and the 
swiftly following series of events led to the defeat and death of Rezin 
and the absorption of Damascus in Assyria. From that time the 
Syrian states ceased to have any independent existence, but became 
apart of the great Assyrian empire, from which they passed to the 
Babylonians, the Persians, and the generals of Alexander, who for 
the first time consolidated them into a great and prosperous kingdom. 
The inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser commemorate the fall of Damascus, 
the overthrow of Rezin (mentioned by name), and give the name of 
Hadad as that of the Syrian divinity *. 


Syria in New Testament times.—In New Testament 
times, Syria, as a Roman province, included Palestine, which, 
however, had a separate governor or procurator. Thus at 
the birth of our Lord the ‘legatus’ of Syria was C. Sentius 
Saturninus, followed by P. Quintilius Varus and P. Sulpi- 
tius Quirinius. At the date of the Crucifixion, M. Calpurnius 
Piso was legate, and Pontius Pilate procurator. 


The Hittite Empire 


186. A great forgotten empire.—That the Hittites, or 
“sons of Heth,’ held an important place in the Eastern 
world is suggested by many passages. In the time of 
Abraham there was a Hittite settlement at Hebron (Kirjath- 
Arba) in southern Palestine (Gen 23)», but their chief seat 
was in the north, their territory being defined as ‘from the 
Lebanon to the Euphrates,’ Jos 14 Judg 17°. The enumerators 
of David’s census reached ‘ Kadesh of the Hittites ¢,’ a city 

* See Ball, Light from the East, pp. 170, 181. 

» See also Gen 26°455 (Esau’s Hittite wives) and the fears of Isaac 
and Rebekah concerning Jacob, 27%°. 


¢ For so, according to the best interpreters, the unintelligible Tahtim- 
hodshi (a Sa 24°) ought to be read, the LXX supplying the clue. 


x 


se z Soa 
306 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


on the Orontes, close to the Lake of Horus. Uriah, 
husband of Bathsheba, was a Hittite, probably of the 
southern branch. Solomon trafficked for horses with the 
‘kings of the Hittites’ as well as of Egypt and other nations, 
1 Ki ro”. In the days of Elisha the Syrians, smitten with 
a panic in besieging Samaria, imagined that the Israelites 
were being reinforced by ‘the kings of the Hittites and the 
kings of the Egyptians,’ 2 Ki 7°. 


All this betokened an important people, but was dismissed as ‘un- 
historical’ by critics who argued that there was no evidence of the 
Hittite power having ever been so considerable. But now the evidence 
of the monuments, in Egypt, Assyria, and Asia Minor, has abundantly 
confirmed and illustrated the Bible records. ‘A great, forgotten 
empire’ has sprung to light. It is proved that the origin of the people 
was in the mountain region of the Taurus, that their settlements and 
conquests embraced the provinces afterwards known as Cappadocia, 
Cilicia, and Lycaonia; while even in the west of Asia Minor, in the 
Pass of Karabel, not far from Smyrna, a monument believed by Hero- 
dotus to represent the Egyptian Sesostris (Ramses II of Egypt) is 
shown to be that of a Hittite warrior. Similar monuments confirm 
the conclusion that at one time the whole country (including the 
‘ Asia’ of the Acts of the Apostles) was under Hittite domination. In 
the Tel el-Amarna tablets, there are repeated references to the Hittites 
as a warlike and formidable people. From their early abodes the 
people extended their empire to the Euphrates, where Carchemish 
became their capital ; and southwards by Hamath to northern Syria, 
where they established themselves at Kadesh as above mentioned. So 
powerful, in fact, was the nation, that the Assyrians applied the name 
of ‘Hittite’ to all the nations west of the Great River. Jerusalem 
itself is described as the daughter of a Hittite, Eze 16°**, that is, as we 
should say, an original Hittite settlement, or colony. 

The Hittite monuments, depicting a people of a marked Mongolian 
or Hamite type (Heth, a grandson of Ham, Gen ro”), bear in- 
scriptions which were long the despair of decipherers; but an im- 
portant clue was suggested in 1903, chiefly through the labours of 
Professor Sayce*; and it is more than probable that these records, 
like those of Egypt and Babylon, may eventually be laid open to the 
student. Meantiine, it is not too much to say, with Dr. Sayce, that 


* See a paper by Dr. Sayce in the Monthly Review, September 1902, 
and the third edition of his book on The Hittites (‘By-Paths of Bible 
Knowledge,’ R. T-5., 1903). 






ASSYRIA 307 


‘light has been cast upon a dark page in the history of western Asia, 
and therewith upon the sacred record of the Old Testament; anda 
people have advanced into the forefront of modern knowledge who 
exercised a deep influence upon the fortunes of Israel, though hitherto 
they had been to us little more than a name. ... The friends of 
Abraham, the allies of David, the mother of Solomon, all belonged to 
a race which left an indelible mark upon the history of the world. 
though it has been reserved in God’s wisdom for our own generation 
to discover and trace it out.’ 

See further The Empire of the Hittites, by Dr. W. Wright, 1884; 
Schrader, Keilinschriften, Eng. trans., vol. i. p. 107; and Col. Conder, 
The Hittites, 1898 ; a Tract on The Hittites by Dr. L. Messerschmidt, 1903, 
condensing the results of research to that date; also the great Bible 
dictionaries. 


Assyria 


187. Assyrian Kings mentioned in the O. T.—The 
kings of Assyria mentioned in Scripture are (1) in connexion 


_with the Israelitish kingdom, Shalmaneser IT, B.c. 858, 


Shalmaneser III, 781, Pul, otherwise Tiglath-pileser ITI, 
745, Shalmaneser IV, 727, and Sargon, 722; (2) in connexion 
with the kingdom of Judah, Sennacherib, 715, Esar-haddon, 
681, and Asshur-bani-pal, ‘the great and noble Asnapper, 
Ezr 41° The monuments brought to light, especially at 
Nineveh, by Botta, Layard, and other explorers, abound in 
most interesting and valuable elucidations of Scripture. 


The earliest Israelite king expressly mentioned on these monuments 
is Omri, the conspicuous character of whose reign is shown by the fact 
that in inscriptions of Shalmaneser IT, Tiglath-pileser IIT, and Sargon, 
the Northern Kingdom is referred to as ‘ the house’ or ‘iand’ of Omri. 
On the celebrated Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser, discovered by 
Mr. Layard in 1846, and now in the British Museum, Jehu, though 
the destroyer of Omri’s dynasty, appears as hisson. Another inscrip- 
tion of this Assyrian monarch, found at Kurtch on the Tigris, and 
now in the British Museum, records his important victory at Qarqar 
on the Orontes over twelve allied kings, led by Ben-hadad of Syria, 
and including Ahab [Akhabbu] of Israel, who contributed to the 
forces Joo chariots, 7oo horsemen, and Io,ooomen*. Here nodoubt we 


® Sayce, Assyria, its Princes, Priests, and People (‘By-Path’ Series, 
R. T.S.), p. 147; C. J. Ball, Light from the East, p. 165. 
x2 





308 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE | 


see a sequel to the brief alliance made between the kings of Israel and 
Syria, so sternly denounced by the prophet Elijah, 1 Ki 20%4?. This 
was in the sixth year of Shalmaneser: in his eleventh year we find 
him (in the inscription on the Black Obelisk) again in conflict with 
Syria, now under Hazael ; and Jehu is mentioned as among the tri- 
butary kings; see 2 Ki 108%, ‘A series of bas-reliefs in the second 
row, extending round the four sides of the monolith, represents the 
payment of tribute by ‘‘ Yaua (Jehu), the son of Khumri (Omri),” who 
brought silver, gold, lead, and bowls, dishes, cups, and other vessels of 
gold.’ Further, ‘from a paper-squeeze in the British Museum we 
learn,’ writes Mr. E. A. Wallis Budge, ‘that Shalmaneser II received 
tribute from Jehu during the expedition against Hazael’ (Brit. Mus. 
Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities, p. 25 (1900)). 


In the annals of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, it is recorded 
(2 Ki 13) that the kingdom was oppressed by Syria, under 
Hazael and his son Benhadad ITI. It is parenthetically added 
(verse 5) that Jehovah ‘sent a deliverer,’ so that ‘the children 
of Israel dwelt in their tents as aforetime.’ Of this deliver- 
ance, and the power by which it was effected, the sacred 
historian tells nothing more; but we can now read it on 
the monuments. The ‘deliverer’ was the King of Assyria, 
Rimmon-nirari III (grandson of Shalmaneser IT). 

In a Jong inscription of his we read ‘To the land of Damascus I 
went; I shut up Marih, King of Damascus, his royal city. The 
fear of the brilliance of Assur, his lord, overwhelmed him, and he 
took my feet ; he offered homage, 2,300 talents of silver, 20 talents of 
gold, 3,000 talents of bronze, 5,000 talents of iron, garments of damask 
and linen; a couch of ivory, a sunshade of ivory I took, I carried to 


(Assyria). His spoil, his goods innumerable, I received in Damascus, 
his royal city, in the midst of his palace *.’ 


188. Aggressions of Tiglath-pileser.—The references 
in the Assyrian inscriptions to the expeditions of Tiglath- 
pileser against Syria and Israel are equally striking. Thus, 
in the annals of Menahem, 2 Ki 151°, we have a brief reference 
to the invasion of Israel by ‘Pul,’ another name for the 
Assyrian king, with the tribute exacted. 


* Sayce, Assyria, its Princes, Priests, and People; Schrader, Keilinschrifien, 
Eng. trans., vol. i. p. 203. 


ASSYRIA 309 


The name of Menahem appears among that of other tributaries of 
Tiglath-pileser III on the hexagonal clay-cylinder of Sennacherib, 
known among Assyriologists as the Taylor Cylinder, from the name of 
a previous owner, but now among the treasures of the British Museum. 
Also on a much mutilated fragment of the annals of Tiglath-pileser III 
appear the names of Rezin of Damascus, Menahem of Samaria, and 
Hiram of Tyre as tributary kings. According to the Assyrian inscrip- 
tions, three or four years, not ten, must have been the extent of the 
reign of Menahem, viz. B.c. 741-737 *. 


The son and successor of Menahem was slain by Pekah, 
who usurped his throne, and in whose days Tiglath-pileser, 
in a fresh descent upon the Israelite kingdom, took several 
cities and transported the inhabitants to Assyria, 2 Ki 15°’. 
This also the Assyrian king has chronicled in an account of 
his expedition against Philistia. 

‘The towns of Gil(ead) and Abel-(beth-Maachah) in the province of 
Beth-Omri [Samaria], the widespread (district of Naphta)li to its whole 

extent I turned into the territory of Assyria. My (governors) and 
officers I appointed (over them). 

‘The land of Beth Omri... a selection of its inhabitants (with 
their goods) I transported to Assyria. Pekah their king I put tv 
death, and I appointed Hoshea to the sovereignty over them. Ten 
(talents of gold . . . of silver as) their tribute I received, and I trans- 
ported them (to Assyria).’ 

It is observable that the sacred historian, 2 Ki 15%", 
ascribes the death of Pekah to a conspiracy by Hoshea; 
whereas Tiglath-pileser claims to have slain Pekah and to 
have raised Hoshea to the throne. No doubt there was 
a Syrian party in Samaria as well as an Assyrian ; Pekah 
belonging to the former, Hoshea to the latter. Hence 
the act of Hoshea may have been virtually that of the 
Assyrian king. 

The siege of Damascus by Tiglath-pileser is recorded 2 Kir6°. From 


the Assyrian inscriptions we learn that the city stood a two years’ 
siege; that Tiglath-pileser, not being successful the first year (B.c. 733), 


* See article on ‘Chronology of the Old Testament,’ by Dr. E. L. Curtis, 
in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible; Schrader, Cuneiform Inscripiions, Eng. 
trans., vol. i, p. 265. 





310 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


returned in the next. Of a mutilated inscription referring to the event, 
a few lines are: ‘He betook himself, to save his life, alone to flight. 
. . . Into the chief gute of his city I entered, his superior commandants 
alive... 1 caused to be crucified [impaled], his land I subjugated.’ 
Upon a now lost tablet Sir Henry Rawlinson found a reference to the 
death of Rezin. 

At Damascus, according to the Assyrian records, Tiglath-pileser 
gathered twenty-three kings to do him homage. ‘This illustrates 2 Ki 
16, ‘Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser." Hoshea 
would be another of these kings, although not expressly mentioned 
either in the history or the inscriptions. 


189. Shalmaneser and Sargon.— The Assyrian king 
mentioned in 2 Ki 17° 18° was Shalmaneser IV. He 
besieged Samaria for three years, at the end of which time 
‘they took it.’ The form of expression, omitting any 
reference to the king, is explained by the monuments, 
Shalmaneser died before the siege was completed, and the 
city was actually taken by his successor, Sargon, who thus 
records the achievement :— 

Fall of Samaria.—‘(In the beginning of my reign) the city of 
Samaria I besieged, I captured ; 27,280 of its inhabitants I carried 
away ; fifty chariots in the midst of them I collected, and the rest 
of their goods I seized; I set my governor over them and laid upon 
them the tribute of the former king (Hoshea) *.’ 

The removal of the people of Samaria, and the repeopling of their 
land, is confirmed by such inscriptions of Sargon as the above, and the 
following: ‘I assigned abodes to the inhabitants of the countries 
taken by me,’ and allusions to those whom he ‘transported to the 
midst of the land of Beth-Omri.. . setting them in the city of 
Samaria *.’ 

Conquests of Sargon.—The name of Sargon occurs but 
once in Scripture (Is 20"), in connexion with an expedition 
against Ashdod conducted by his general. Ashdod was the — 
key to Egypt ; and from inscriptions which recount Sargon’s 
prowess, we find that the Assyrian monarch, having added 

® Sayce, Assyria, its Princes, Priests, and People. There is another 


rendering in Schrader, vol. i. p. 264. 
> Sayce and Schrader, as above. 


ASSYRIA 311 


Hamath to his dominions, and overturned the Hittite empire 
in the capture of Carchemish (see Is 10°), was advancing 
to the south-west, taking Palestine in his way, and, as he 
asserts, capturing Jerusalem. His approach to the capital, 
from village to village, from hill to hill, is vividly depicted 
by the prophet in a familiar passage; and in ‘the burden 
of the valley of vision,’ ch. 22, the picture is repeated, as 
from within the city*. But Sargon withdrew, leaving 
Jerusalem tributary, but still hankering after alliance with 
Egypt, the source of many subsequent troubles. 


Probably Sargon was hindered from pressing his advantage against 
Judah by the troubles in Babylonia, then a small and struggling pro- 
vince, intent upon casting off the Assyrian yoke. Merodach-baladan, 
the Babylonian chieftain, sought the alliance of Hezekiah by an 
embassage sent ostensibly to congratulate him on recovery from a 
dangerous illness. See Is 39, to be placed, with ch. 38, before the account 
of Sennacherib’s invasion. That invasion appears to have been in the 
twenty-fourth year of Hezekiah, 8.c. jor. The fourteenth year was 
the date of Sargon’s invasion, B.c. 711°. 


190. Sennacherib and the kingdom of Judah.—On the 
death of Sargon, B.c. 705, murdered by his soldiers, and 
the accession of his son Sennacherib, Hezekiah, relying upon 
the co-operation of Egypt, endeavoured to cast off the Assyrian 
yoke, refusing the customary tribute. Sennacherib, after 
three years’ delay, set out upon the memorable expedition 
related at large, Is 36, 37 and 2 Ki 18, 19(the same account). 


The story is also told on the Assyrian monuments, from Sennacherib’s 


* Before the discovery of the monuments that have thrown light 
upon Sargon’s reign, it was supposed by all expositors that the pro- 
phet’s representations referred to the invasion of Sennacherib. Some 
still adhere to this view. An obvious difficulty is that Sennacherib 
advanced from the south-west (from Lachish), whereas the description 
in Is ro represents the invader’s approach as from the north-east, the 
way by which Sargon would come. But see the discussion of Is 36! in 
the work of Principal Douglas, Isaiah One and his Book One, pp. 405-407. 

» On this part of the history, see Sayce’s Fresh Light from Ancient 
Monuments (1900), pp. 112-114. 


312. THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


own point of view. After narrating the siege and ruin of Lachish* 
(2 Ki 187 2 Ch 32"), his account, preserved upon the Taylor 
Cylinder, in a most interesting way supplements the Biblical account ; 
although it makes no mention of the great disaster so impressively 
recorded by the Jewish historian (2 Ki 19). Like the Egyptians and © 
some other nations, the Assyrians often ignored their defeats and 
exaggerated their victories. Sennacherib’s narrative, at any rate, is 
not that of a decisive success: the campaign closed suddenly and 
without the usual long list of spoil—a lack which he attempts to 
supply by representing that the presents offered by Hezekiah were 
sent to Nineveh. 

The following is one of the latest versions of the portion referring to 
Hezekiah, as given by Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge in his Guide to the Assyrian 
Antiquities in the British Museum, p. 195 (1900) :-— 

‘T then besieged Hezekiah of Judah, who had not submitted to my 
yoke, and I captured forty-six of his strong cities and fortresses and 
innumerable small cities which were round about them, with the 
battering of rams and the assault of engines, and the attack of foot 
soldiers, and by mines and breaches (made in the walls). I brought 
out therefrom two hundred thousand and one hundred and fifty people, 
both small and great, male and female, and horses, and mules, and 
asses, and camels, and oxen, and innumerable sheep I counted as 
spoil. (Hezekiah) himself, like a caged bird, I shut up within Jeru- 
salem his royal city. I threw up mounds against him, and I took 
vengeance upon any man who came forth from his city. His cities 
which I had captured I took from him and gave to Mitinti, King of 
Ashdod, and Padi, King of Ekron, and Silli-Bel, King of Gaza, and 
I reduced his land. I added to their former yearly tribute, and 
increased the gifts which they paid unto me. The fear of the majesty 
of my sovereignty overwhelmed Hezekiah, and the Urbi and his 
trusty warriors, whom he had brought into his royal city of Jerusalem 
to protect it, deserted. And he dispatched after me his messenger to 
my royal city Nineveh to pay tribute and to make submission with 
thirty talents of gold, eight hundred talents of silver, precious stones, 
eye-paint... ivory couches and thrones, hides and tusks, precious 
woods, and divers objects, a heavy treasure, together with his 
daughters, and the women of his palace, and male and female 
musicians.’ 


* This siege, with its barbarous details, is represented upon a series 
of sculptured slabs from Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh, in the 
Assyrian saloon of the British Museum. Engravings and descriptions 
will be found in Layard’s Monuments of Nineveh and Nineveh and Babylon ; 
also in Light from the Eust, by C. J. Ball, pp. 190, r91. 


ASSYRIA 313 


The discrepancy between the Biblical text of 300 talents of silver, 
and the 800 as referred to in the Assyrian account, may be explained 
by the different standards of the Palestinian and Babylonian currency 
and perhaps by monumental exaggeration. 

Destruction of Sennacherib’s army.—It should be 
noted that the Egyptian tradition of the catastrophe of 
Sennacherib’s host, as recorded by Herodotus (ii. 141), places 
_ the event near Pelusium, where the Assyrian army suddenly 
found itself defenceless, through innumerable field-mice 
having during the night gnawed their bowstrings and the 
thongs of their shields, rendering them useless. It is certain 
that Sennacherib was at the time on his march to Egypt 
(Is 37°), taking Jerusalem and Libnah in his way. Herodotus 
no doubt saw some hieroglyphic illustration of the disaster, 
in which a mouse, the emblem of pestilence, was gnawing at 
a bow, the symbol of military force. See Driver, Jsaiah, p. 82. 

In 2 Ki t9* and Is 37°* the assassination of Sennacherib by two of 
his sons is related : and an inscription found at Kouyunjik, Nineveh, 
now in the British Museum, refers to Esar-haddon’s receipt of the news 
of the unnatural crime of the two brothers :—‘ From my heart I made 
avow ; my liver was inflamed with rage. Immediately I wrote letters, 
saying that I assumed the sovereignty of my father’s house.’ He then 
lifted up his hands in prayer to his gods, and marched upon Nineveh. 
He was opposed, but by whom is not certain, as the end of the tablet, 
as well as the beginning, has been broken off. See Records of the Past, 
vol. iii. p. 103 (First Series). 

Esar-haddon and Manasseh of Judah.—Several im- 
portant cylinders have been discovered referring to the his- 
torical events of Esar-haddon’s reign. Upon one of them is the 
statement that he assembled ‘the kings of Syria and of the 
nations beyond the sea ’—among whom we find mentioned— 
‘Manasseh, King of Judah.’ The inscription in part runs 
as follows :—‘I assembled the kings of Syria and the land 
beyond the (Mediterranean) Sea, Baal, King of Tyre, 
Manasseh, King of Judah, Kaus-gabri, King of Edom, Migri. 
King of Moab, &c.®’ 


* Sayce, Assyria, ifs Princes, Priests, and Penple, p. 152. 





314 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPT 


A 


URE 


Mention has already been made of Esar-haddon’s triumph ~ 


over the Ethiopic-Egyptian King Tirhakah. 


His reign is chiefly remarkable from his completing the capture of 
Babylon. In fact, he was the only Assyrian monarch who actually 
ruled in that city. This explains what has sometimes caused a diffi- 
culty in 2 Ch 33": ‘The captains of the host of the king of Assyria 
took Manasseh and carried him to Babylon.” Why not to Nineveh, the 
Assyrian capital? But the narrator shows his perfect accuracy, as 
confirmed by the monuments. 


Asshur-bani-pal.—The Assyrian records of this son of 
Esar-haddon, now identified with ‘the great and noble 
Asnapper’ of Ezr 4'°, show him to have been a very able 
and powerful monarch. He founded the great library of 
Nineveh which has furnished so many treasures to the 
British Museum. The fact that it was he who peopled 
Samaria with colonists from the conquered nations, is in 
accord with all we know of his character and with the policy 
of the greatest Assyrian kings®. 

The Assyrian empire fell 8.c. 606 before the armies of 
Nabopolassar, the revolted vassal-king of Babylonia in alliance 
with the Medes. See Eze 31° -™ for a description of the 
empire's fallen greatness, and the prophecy of Nahum 
throughout for the premonition of its final ruin; compare 
Zep 3. 


Babylon 


191. The later or Second Babylonian Empire was 
founded by Nabopolassar, who wrested the sovereignty 
from the long dominant power of Assyria. Nebuchadnezzar, 


or more correctly Nebuchadrezzar, son and successor of © 


Nabopolassar, first showed his prowess in warfare as his 
father’s general, by his decisive victory over Egypt at 


Carchemish as already noted. Before the death of his father, — 


he had captured Jerusalem, making Judxa tributary to — 


* See Ball, Light from the East, p. 200. 


BABYLON 315 


Babylon, and afterwards completed his conquest by crushing 
the rebellion of Jehoiakim, who fell ignominiously in the 
struggle. The brief reign of Jehoiachin, his long captivity 
in Babylon, and the ten years’ reign of his uncle Zedekiah, 
with its terrible close in the destruction of Jerusalem and 
the exile of its people, are recounted by the inspired his- 
torian», It is observable that the prophet Jeremiah (324 
34°) had foretold the deportation of Zedekiah to Babylon, 
while Ezekiel (12)°) predicted that he should not see the city. 
Both prophecies were literally fulfilled, Zedekiah being 
cruelly blinded before he was carried thither. 


The reign of Nebuchadnezzar was chronicled by Berosus, ‘the 
Manetho of Chaldea.’ His writings have mostly perished, but, as in 
the case of the Egyptian historian, Josephus in his treatise Agains/ 
Apion® has preserved a fragment which at least illustrates Nebuchad- 
nezzar’s boast, recorded Dn 4°°, ‘Is not this great Babylon which 
I have built?’ This is also the burden of the ‘East India House’ 
inscription of the king, discovered among the ruins of Babylon in 
1803 4, 

The list of publie works which the king had undertaken for the 
improvement of Babylon is amazing. They comprised more than 
twenty temples, with strengthened fortifications, the excavation of 
canals, vast embankments by the river, and the celebrated hanging 
gardens. Another inscription, on two barrel cylinders in the British 
Museum, gives a very similar account of the architectural works by 
which this great monarch enriched his metropolis and kingdom». 
All through Babylonia the discovery of bricks enstamped with 
Nebuchadnezzar’s name attests his enterprise as well as his opulence 
and taste. Ona cylinder disinterred from the ruins of Abu Habbah 
is an inscription recording the restoration of the Temple of the Sun. 
The words read almost like a heathen version of Solomon’s address 
and prayer at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. In the 
Book of Daniel the sequel of Nebuchadnezzar’s boast was his attack of 
madness and his seclusion from public affairs. Neither Berosus nor any 


® Josephus, Ant. x. 6, § 3. See Jer 22'8 1, 

> See 2 Ki 248-2571. © Book i. to. 

d See a representation of this inscription in Ball’s Light from the East, 
p. 207. A facsimile of the inscription is in the British Museum. 

e A translation of this will be found in Dr. Wallis Budge’s Babylo- 
nian Life and History, pp. 16-22. 


316 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


of the hitherto-diseovered inscriptions refers directly to this fact*; 
which need excite no surprise, as references to what was inglorious 
and humiliating were out of the line of such monumental records. 


192. The narratives in Daniel accord in many ways with the 
representations given of Babylon and its customs. That no men- 
tion has been as yet discovered of Daniel himself, who for a time 
played so great a part in Babylonian affairs, is not surprising. 
Great kings did not name their subordinates when recording the glory 
of their deeds. The honour and renown they arrogated to themselves”. 

Not a few difficulties that have arisen in the comparison of the 
Bible history with the monumental records have been cleared away 
by larger knowledge. Thus Belshazzar, termed a king in Dn 5 (alsv 
7' 8'), Nebuchadnezzar being his father (verses 2, 18), does not any- 
where appear in the Babylonian lists of kings; Evil-merodach haying 
been Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, 2 Ki 25””. Hence there has 
been much discussion as to Belshazzar’s personality, some critics even 
doubting his existence, until the discovery by Sir H. Rawlinson of an 
inscribed cylinder of King Nabonidus, expressly naming him (Bélu- 
sharra-usur) as his eldest son. Another cylinder of the same king states 
that the son of Nabonidus was appointed commander of his forces. The 
difficulty thus vanishes. Nabonidus was an able and accomplished 
ruler, and has left many records of his eighteen years’ reign. But he 
was of a placid, inert disposition, and averse from the cares of state. 
Belshazzar, accordingly, acted as his father’s viceroy, practically king, 
being a ‘ son’ or descendant of Nebuchadnezzar® through the marriage 
of Nabonidus into that great king's family. Both father and son died in 
the same year (8. c. 538), Belshazzar falling in Babylon, and Nabonidus, 
who had fled to Bursippa before the approach of the army of Cyrus 
under Gobryas, dying five months afterwards *%.’ 

Another difficulty in the Book of Daniel is the reference to ‘ Darius 
the Mede’ as ‘king’ in Babylon after the capture of the city 
by Cyrus (Dn 5°16). No such name appears on the monuments or in 
secular history. That Cyrus placed Gobryas, governor of Kurdistan, 


* For some time it was supposed that a passage in the king's great 
inscription, interpreted of his temporary seclusion from public affairs, 
might refer to this malady; but the reading is now believed to be 
mistaken, 

> See Dr. Wallis Budge, p. 71. 

© See the full and convincing discussion of the facts in Canon 
Rawlinson’s Egypt and Batylon, 1885, ch. ix. Herodotus (i. 185-188) 
speaks of Nabidonus under the slightly altered form of Labynetus. 

4 Berosus. 





BABYLON ale 


in charge of Babylon until he himself could assume the sovereignty, 
appears from the Babylonian chronicle; and it has been conjectured 
that he was the ‘ king’ or ‘vice-king’ in question. The difficulties of 
such identification are great. There is no evidence that Gobryas was 
a Mede®, and his assumption of the name Darius cannot be satis- 
factorily explained. Another explanation is that he was Cyaxares ITI, 
uncle to Cyrus»; but this also has many improbabilities. If it be 
accepted, ‘Ahasuerus’ in 9! must be a Hebrew form of ‘ Astyages.’ 
. The supposition that Darius Hystaspes is intended, although upheld 
by some scholars, is quite inadmissible. That he was a Median noble- 
man, otherwise unknown, has also been suggested. On the whole, 
the identification of this Darius must, for the present, be placed 
among the unsolved problems of sacred history awaiting elucidation 
by further discoveries. 


A cylinder of Cyrus himself, unfortunately imperfect, 
now in the British Museum, describes from his own point 
of view the capture of Babylon. Its inscription may 
well be compared with the narratives of Scripture and of 
Herodotus, which it supplements in a most interesting 
way. Among other references to the respect paid by Cyrus, 
an evident latitudinarian, to the national deities, the king 
goes on to say, ‘the gods that abode in the (conquered) lands 
I restored to their place, and settled in an eternal abode; 
all their populations I gathered together, and restored to their 
own dwelling-place.’ The words very strikingly illustrate the 
permission given to the Jews to return to their own country, 
and to reinstate the worship of Jehovah the God of Israel. 
It was ‘no isolated act of clemency, but a part of the general 
policy of the Persian conqueror towards the foreign popula- 
tions who had been deported to Babylonia by Nabopolassar 
and his successors ¢.’ 


* According to Xenophon, Cyrop., he was an Assyrian. 

> Evidently the opinion of Josephus. ‘He (Darius) was the son of 
Astyages, and had another name among the Greeks’ (Ant. x. 11, § 4). 

© See a representation of this cylinder in Dr. Budge’s Guide to the 
Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum, Plate XXXI. 
The inscription, so far as it is unbroken, is given, with the comment 
here quoted, in C. J. Ball’s Light from the Kast, p. 224. 





318 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCE 


Thus, to the very close of the Old Testament history, the — 


written word and the monumental records of many nations 
cast light upon each other, enabling us to read and under- 
stand with more comprehensive knowledge, as well as to 
believe with a deeper assurance. 


193: New Testament and Secular History.—The New 
Testament records also touch the annals of the world’s 
empire at many important points, which, however, may be 
better noted under the head of Curonotoey. See § 202. 


194. Illustrative historical facts.—Many incidental 
illustrations of the New Testament, as well as valuable 
lessons, may be gained by reference to the general history 
of the times. 


Thus Mt 27° is explained by the fact that there was a general im- 
pression at that time throughout the East that a great prince was 
about to appear and govern the world (Tac. Hist. 5. 13; Suet. Vit Vesp. 
c. 4). 

In Mt 2448 our Saviour warns His disciples to quit Jerusalem before 
the siege began ; and history tells us that they profited by His instrue- 
tions, for before the city was surrounded by the Roman armies, they 
retired to Pella, on the eastern side of the Jordan. 

The ‘rest’ spoken of in Ac 9*! is explained in contemporary history. 
It must not be ascribed to the conversion of Saul, for the persecution 
continued three years after; but to the circumstance that at that time 
(a. D. 40) Caligula attempted to set up his statue in the Holy of Holies. 
The consternation of the Jews at this threatened profanation diverted 
their attention from the Christians, and so ‘ the churches had rest.’ 

In Ac 17° Athens is said to be ‘full of idols.” lian (a. D. 140) 
calls it the altar of Greece; and Pausanias, the Greek historian (a. D. 
174), speaks of altars to ‘unknown gods’ (Attica, i. 4). 

Many incidental references in Acts are strikingly illustrated by the 
history. Thus in Macedonia, Philippi is ‘a colony’ (16™) with its 
magistracy on the Roman model ; while Thessalonica, a free city, has 
its ‘politarchs’ (17°), a local office, as now proved by monuments. 
Achaia is governed by a ‘proconsul’ (18'*), a title which, a little 
earlier or a little later, would have been inaccurate. At Ephesus, 
again, there are ‘ Asiarchs,’ an appellation equally exact. For further 
correspondences, see Bp. Lightfoot, Smith’s Dict. Bible, art. ‘ Acts,’ and 
Prof. W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, throughout. 


ANCIENT RELIGIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES 319 


Light from heathen religions.—A knowledge of the 
religious opinions of the nations by whom the Israelites 
were surrounded is often useful. 


Among the ZLgyptians, for example, a Jamb or kid was an object of 
veneration, and the male, as the representative of Ammon, was 
worshipped. 

The plagues of Egypt were all inflicted on objects of Egyptian wor- 
ship, and thus they became a rebuke to idolatry, as well as an evidence 
of Divine power. 

At solemn festivals, the Phenicians ate of the raw flesh of their 
offerings ; part of it they roasted in the sun, and part was sodden for 
magical purposes, the intestines being used for divination, and the 
fragments for charms and enchantments. All these practices were 
forbidden to the Jews, and though no doubt other solemn lessons 
were taught by the burning of the victim in the fire, it was also 
intended to teach them to avoid the rites of the heathen, 

See also Lev 1978 Ps 164 Jer 4417!8, 

Among the ancient Persians it was held that there were two deities 
_ of equal power, Ormuzd and Ahriman. Jehovah, in His address to 
Cyrus, claims authority over them both: ‘J form the light, and create 
darkness : I make peace, and create evil,’ Is 45". 

The study of Babylonian beliefs is especially interesting and valuable 
as bringing into strong relief the contrast between the heathen cor- 
ruption of primitive beliefs and the authentic records of the Word 
of God. 


Light from ancient philosophies.—Many who had embraced the 
Oriental philosophy became Christians, and attempted to blend their 
former tenets with the doctrines of Christ. Some of them (the 
Valentinian Gnostics for example) held the opinion that there were 
several emanations of the Godhead, called the Word, the Life, the 
Light, &c.: opinions the germs of which existed very early. See in 
Jn 13-18, where all those titles are claimed for our Lord, 

From their principles, many of them deduced a loose morality, and 
others justified the imposition of unreasonable austerities. To the 
speculative opinions of those sects are opposed such passages as these, 
1 Jn 1227 222.28 42.3.9.1415 51-59-20; and to their practice, 1 Jn 155 226 
gi 10 518-°1, The deeds of the Nicolaitanes were probably of the same 
order, Rev 2°. 

In Europe the Greek philosophy was most prevalent, and the Greek 
character showed its tendency in subtle disquisition. Two only of 

the Grecian sects are mentioned in Seri pture, the Epicureans and the 
Stoics. The first held that God took no concern in the affairs of the 


320 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


universe, but dwelt in some distant region ; and the second held that 
He was the soul of the world. They agreed, however, in maintaining 
that the Greeks were superior to all other nations. The Apostle Paul 
rebuked both, Ac 17'*-*?, alternately correcting their errors, and 
revealing to them the great doctrines of the Resurrection and the 
atonement of Christ. A knowledge of their views explains his appeal, 
rebukes ‘reserve’ in the exhibition of the gospel, and illustrates the 
simplicity and dignity of truth. 

The Divinity of our Lord, and the inutility of the ceremonial law, 
are both taught in the Epistles of Paul. It is a confirmation of this 
view that the Pbionites, who observed the Law and maintained the 
simple humanity of Christ, rejected those epistles, and received only 
a mutilated copy of the Gospel of Matthew. 

Many of the discourses of our Lord contain special reference to the 
views of the various Jewish sects. The reader will find those views 
noticed in Part II, Ch. XVII. 


Here, again, a caution is needed. The errors referred to 
in the passages which are thus made clear by this knowledge 
were often local and temporary. They generally sprang, 
however, from some deep-seated tendency of human nature, 
and are apt to show themselves under different forms; and 
the refutation of them, given in Scripture, always embodies 
truths of permanent and universal application 


Chronology : the Old Testament 
First Period. 


195. Antediluvian Period.— For the first period the 
genealogies in Gen 5 are the only authority, as no con- 
temporary records exist. The sum of years is found by 
adding together the ages of the antediluvian patriarchs, 
each at the birth of his eldest son; Noah’s age being taken 
at the time of his entrance into the ark. The Hebrew text 
differs from the Septuagint and the Samaritan, as shown in 
the table annexed, 


OLD TESTAMENT CHRONOLOGY 321 














Authority. Hebrew. | Septuagint. | Samaritan. 
Years. Years. Years. 
Gen 55 .| Adam . = : : 130 230 130 
ee etn. - = : 105 205 |} TO05 
“oh GA Er a : F “ 90 190 | 90 
(RS | pp ee : Jo 170 7o 
3 © -| Mahalaleel . : : 65 165 65 
~5 | EES 3 - 5 a 162 162 62 
» 7 «| Enoch . : : : 65 165 65 
» ~  .| Methuselah : F 187 1872 67 
5, @6-:'||, amech : ; b 182 188° 53 
» 72 .| Noahatthe Deluge . 600 600 | 600 
1656 | 2262 ~ | 1307 








Josephus makes the total 2,256, agreeing in Lamech with the Hebrew, 
and elsewhere with the LXX. 


It need hardly be added that, whatever the number of 
years from Adam to the Deluge, the computation affords 
no basis for a date B.c. This must evidently depend on 
the length of the succeeding periods. The estimate there- 
fore of 4,004 years from Adam to Christ must be discarded 
as unsupported. In fact there are as many different views 
of the date of Creation as there are chronological systems. 
No fewer than 140 different dates have been variously 
assigned ; the shortest being that of the rabbis, who give 
only 3,483 years as the time of the world’s duration before 
the Christian era. 


Second Period. 


196. The second period, in like manner, is calculated from 
the Bible genealogies, but includes the beginnings of secular 
history. 


» Some copies, 167. > Josephus, 182. 





Authority. 





Gen 111° , | Shem after the Flood . 2 2 2 
a) so | Arphaxad . : z 35 135 135 
— aoe | CainanII . : ; 130 
Gen 11". | Salah . : : a 30 130 130 
+s 16. | Heber . . ‘| 34 134 134 
a 18, || Peleg « 30 130 130 
poe 1 eu 32 132 132 
Mec» | Serae . : | 30 130 130 
” 24 || Nahor. : P : 29 179 79 
26 
2 Pee }| Terah. z d 130 130 130 
Gen 12* .| Abraham . ‘ : 15 15 15 
427 1307 1077 








The different computations.—The discrepancy between 
the Hebrew text and the others is here specially noticeable, 
and has led to much discussion, as between the longer and 
the shorter chronology. 


The longer is by many considered to be best entitled to confidence, 
for the following reasons, among others :— 

1. The Hebrew is deemed more likely to have been shortened than 
the LXX to be lengthened, as, for some time after the Christian era, 
the Jews had a motive for diminishing the period between the Creation 
and the birth of Jesus, in order to make it appear that the time which 
their own expositors had fixed for the appearance of the Messiah had 
not arrived; whilst, on the other hand, no motive so strong can be 
supposed to have existed on the part of the Jewish translators of the 
Septuagint: nor could there have been an opportunity to alter the 
Greek version after it was made ; for it was in extensive circulation, 
and in constant public use, both among Jews and Christians. 

2. The length of time assigned by the Septuagint, the Samaritan 
text, and Josephus, to the period between the Deluge and the birth of 
Abraham (about 1,100 years), is deemed more consistent with historical 
facts than the shorter time assigned by the Hebrew (about 350 years), 
which appears insufficient for the great multiplication and extended 
dispersion of Noah’s descendants over immense tracts of country, 
extending from India and Assyria to Ethiopia, Egypt, and Greece : 


OLD TESTAMENT CHRONOLOGY 323 


for the establishment of the organized and powerful monarchies of 
Babylon, Nineveh, and Egypt; besides the lesser chieftaincies of 
Canaan, which seem to have been founded by descendants of Ham, 
after the expulsion of earlier settlers ; and for the spread and preva- 
lence of idolatry. In fact, it is difficult, in the face of the records of 
ancient empires brought to light by research during the nineteenth 
century, to suppose that this growth of nations could have taken place 
even in the period which the LXX allows. The subject is one that 
requires still further elucidation. 

Those who adhere to the shorter computation urge, principally, the 
following considerations :— 

1. The general accuracy of the original Hebrew text, which was 
preserved by the Jews with most jealous care. 

2. The facilities afforded by the shorter chronology for the safe and 
rapid transmission of revealed truth in the earliest ages; Lamech 
being contemporary both with Adam and with Shem, whilst Shem 
was contemporary with Abraham. 

3. The objection drawn from the shortness of the interval between 
the Deluge and the birth of Abraham, compared with the apparent 
. populousness of the earth, is more than met by the increase of man- 
kind in newly peopled districts in modern times, and by the fact that 
the Hebrew text gives at least as many generations as the LXX; 
while, on the supposition that men generally married as early as the 
ages assigned in the Hebrew text, it implies a larger population. 

4. It is argued that the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Chaldzan records 
are too seriously discredited by the fables with which they are inter- 
mingled to be taken as the basis of a sound chronology. This objec- 
tion, however, loses force in the view of ever-accumulating evidence, 
which renders it more and more practicable to separate between the 
fabulous and the authentic. 


Third Period. 


197. From the call of Abraham to the Exodus.—The 
third period is calculated, first, from the lives of the three 
great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and, secondly, 
from the Scripture statements regarding the duration of the 
Tsraelites’ abode in Egypt, thus :— 


324 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Authority. 
Gen a1°. . | Abraham (until Isaac’s a 
eT . | Isaac 


sy As Jacob, on entering "Egypt 
Ex 1210-41 
LXX, Gal Israelites in Egypt 
3! 





Disputed passage in the LXX.—With regard to this 
period, there is again a serious discrepancy between the 
different estimates; arising in this instance from the ad- 
dition in the LXX of an important clause in Ex 12*. The 
Hebrew reads, ‘The sojourning of the children of Israel, 
which they sojourned in Egypt, was 430 years’; the LXX, 
the Samaritan, adding after Egypt, ‘and in the land of 
Canaan,’ thus including the years of the previous patriarchal 
abode in Palestine (215 years). This was evidently the 
‘received chronology’ in apostolic times, and as such is 
adopted by the Apostle Paul; while it certainly seems to 
be supported by the genealogies. 


See the authorities in the above table. Ussher, Hales, and the older 
chronologers generally seem to concur; but the decided tendency is 
now to support the longer estimate, in conformity with the Hebrew 
text, as well as with the prophetic intimation, Gen 157° (‘four hundred 
years’ in round numbers; compare Ac 7°). Bishop Lightfoot well 
remarks that ‘ the difficulties which attend both systems of chronology 
need not be considered here (on Gal 31"), as they do not affect St. Paul's 
argument, and cannot have entered into his thoughts.” 


Fourth Period. 


198. From the Exodus to Saul.—In this fourth period, 
the reckoning begins with the forty years in the wilderness ; 
and the statement, 1 Ki 6', that from the Exodus to the 
building of the Temple there were 480 years, seems to 





OLD TESTAMENT CHRONOLOGY 325 


afford a sure basis for computation. But many difficulties 
have arisen regarding this statement, which have baffled 
chronologers. 


The LXX reads ‘the 440th year’; but this may be simply from the 
omission of the forty years’ wandering. In 2 Ch 3? (the parallel 
passage) there is no date. Josephus, and others who have left systems 
of chronology, seem to have been ignorant of this computation, which 
‘is first mentioned in the fourth century by Eusebius; and he does not 
adopt it. St. Paul, again, seems, according to the received text, to 
assign 450 years as the time from the division of Canaan ‘until Samuel’ 
(Ac 13”), and if so, the whole period must have been 579 years at 
least*. There is, however, a doubt about the reading of this passage. 
See R. V., which places the 450 years before the period of the judges, 
dating from the gift of the land to Abraham. Ussher supposes the 
450 years to refer to the time between the birth of Isaac and the entry 
upon Canaan, a somewhat forced construction. Josephus mentions 
for the whole period 592 years (Ant. viii. 3, § 1), 632 (x. 8, § 5), and 612 
(xx. ro, r); and Hales supposes his true reckoning to be, after obvious 
corrections, 621 years. Petavius reckons 519 years; Greswell, 549 
' years; Jackson, 579 years ; Clinton and Cunningham, 612 years. 

In turning to the history in Judges, and reckoning up the periods 
named, the questions raised by these different views are not solved. 
Six servitudes are mentioned, extending over 111 years; and fourteen 
judges (not including Joshua, Eli, or Samuel), extending over 279 
years, or 390 in all. Adding to this number 46 and 83 as in the note °, 
we haye an entire period of 579 years. But here are various elements 
of uncertainty. Are these servitudes and judgeships to any extent 
contemporaneous ? Ussher thinks they are. Hales, supposing that 
Judg 2° applies to all, concludes that they are not. Again, nothing 
is told us of the length of Joshua’s government, or of the government 
of the elders who survived him, except in the case of Othniel, his 
son-in-law. The question is further complicated by the estimate of 
Jephthah, Judg 116, of the time between the entrance on Canaan and 
his own day as 300 years ; but this may be only a rough and perhaps 
an inaccurate calculation. Further, it is not clear whether Eli was 
a political ruler, or simply a civil judge, as Ussher describes him. 
If the latter, he is not to be reckoned chronologically among the 


* viz. In the wiiderness, and till the land was divided 46 years. 
Judges including Eli and Samuel 6 A » 450 
Saul 40, David 40, 3rd Solomon 3 Ctx. 5 Os 


979 


? 


” 


326 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


judges. And lastly, we cannot gather from Scripture what time 
elapsed between the death of Samson and the accession of Saul. Eli 
judged Israel forty years, but Ussher makes him contemporary of 
Samson, and not his successor. He reckons between Eli’s death and 
Saul’s election twenty-one years, though Samuel could hardly have 
been in that case ‘old and gray-headed’ (1 Sa 12"), Eusebius reckons 
forty years for Eli, and includes Samuel in Saul’s reign: Josephus 
reckons fifty-two years for Eli and Samuel; Hales allowing for them 
seventy-two. Clinton supposes St, Paul’s reckoning to end with the 
beginning of Samuel’s judgeship, and adds for that thirty-two years. 
On the whole, therefore, it may be said that if we set aside the read- 
ing in 1 Ki 6', and are uncertain of the precise meaning of Ac 137°, we 
have not materials for solving the difficulties which this fourth period 
involves, : 


Fifth Period. 

199. Period of the Kingly History.—For the fifth 
period, the main source of information from Scripture is 
in the lists of the kings of Israel and Judah respectively, 
compared with the annals of surrounding empires. The 
difficulties in the computation arise first from the fact that 


the two series of reigns differ in their totals; those. 


of Judah, from the death of Solomon to the fall of Samaria, 
seeming to amount to 259 years; those of Israel, during the 
same period, to 241 years. Different methods of explaining 
this variation have been adopted: one by assuming un- 
recorded intervals of anarchy in Israel ; another, by showing 
that in Judah there were instances of associated sovereignty, 
so that the same years were counted both to father and son. 


The results are shown in the CHronoLogicaL APPENDIX, 


based upon the calculations of different chronologers. 


A second source of occasional difficulty is in the adjustment of the 
annals of other nations to the Bible chronology. Yet, whatever the 
apparent discrepancies, the main result is very remarkably to confirm 
and illustrate the statements of Scripture. In fact, for full under- 
standing of the Bible history it is needful to know that of the 
surrounding peoples, from a judicious use of the aids that have been 
so copiously furnished by the discoveries of recent times. Compara- 
tive chronology is one of the most fascinating as well as important 
studies connected with the Bible history. 


OLD TESTAMENT CHRONOLOGY 327 


In the latter part of this fifth period the synchronisms 
with the known dates of secular history make it for the 
first time possible definitely to give the year B.c. 

It should be especially noticed here that certain pecu- 
liarities of reckoning cause occasional difficulty. 


(a) Jewish historians, for example, speak of the reign of a king 
_ which is continued through one whole year and parts of two others 
asa three years’ reign. It may be two years and ten months, or it 
may be one year and two months. 

(0) They sometimes set down the principal number ; the odd, or 
smaller number, being omitted, as in Judg 20% : see verse 46. 

(c) As sons frequently reigned with their fathers in ancient 
monarchies, the time of the reign of each is sometimes made to include 
the time of the other, and sometimes to exclude it. Thus Jotham is 
said to have reigned sixteen years, 2 Ki 15°°; and yet, in verse 30, 
mention is made of his twentieth year. For four years he seems to 
have reigned with Uzziah, who was a leper. So 2 Ki 13110 24°, com- 
pared with 2 Ch 36°. A similar principle explains Dn tr! Jer 25': 
Nebushadnezzar being king with his father when Jerusalem was 
besieged. 

This peculiarity of reckoning has been applied, with great advantage, 
to explain the chronological tables of Egypt and other Eastern countries. 

(d) It not unfrequently happens that different modes of reckoning 
are adopted in reference to the same transaction. See Gen 15!° and 
Gal 3!7; Moses speaking of 400 years from the birth of Isaac to the 
Exodus; Paul, of 430 years from the call of Abraham to the giving of 
the Law, which occurred three months after the Exodus, See § 197. 


Siath Period. 


200. From the Captivity to the Advent.—The sixth 
period, covering the time of the later prophets, the close of 
the Old Testament Canon, and the interval before the Advent, 
is definitely marked out by the annals of the several nations. 
About this part of the chronology there is practically no 
doubt. The dates are given in the CHRonoLoGIcAL APPENDIX: 
the history of the Jews between Malachi and John the 
Baptist, as detailed in Part II, Ch. XVII, should be especially 
studied. 


328 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


201. Chronological Eras.— It should be added that with 
respect to the synchronisms with secular history in the 
fifth and sixth periods we have certain fixed eras or starting- 
points of reckoning, with ‘Canons’ or lists following. 


1. Assyrian Eponym Canon.—Four different records have been 
discovered, in substantial agreement; defects in any one of them being 
supplied by one or more of the rest. In these the years are num- 
bered by the names of officers annually appointed from B. co, 893 to 659. 
The known date of a solar eclipse mentioned in these records (June 15, 
B.c. 763) affords a key to the rest. See for the lists George Smith’s 
Assyrian Eponym Canon, 1863. 

2. The Babylonian era of Nabonassar, B. 0. 747.—Nabonassar (Budge, 
Babylonian Life and History, p. 59) was a Babylonian king of whom 
nothing more is known than that the celebrated Canon of Ptolemy, 
the Egyptian astronomer (about a.p. 150), begins from his reign, 
extending from B.c. 747 to a.p. 137. This Canon, of which the 
accuracy has been well tested, is the chief source of information on 
the period to which it relates. 

3. The Olympiads, or periods of four years, reckoned by the Greeks 
from the recurrence of the Olympic games, beginning with B.c. 776, 
are likewise a source of accurate information. 

4. The Year of the building of Rome (Annus Urbis Conditw), generally 
quoted as A.U.C., B.C. 754-753, is employed in Roman calculations, as 
also are the names of the consuls in each year from B.c. 509 to a. D. 476. 

5. The Seleucid era begins with the occupation of Babylon by 
Seleucus Nicator, after the death of Alexander’s son, B.c. 312. It is 
useful in studying the Books of Maccabees, where it is termed ‘the 
era of kings.’ 

6. Scripture itself seldom reckons from fixed points. An exception 
is in the prophet Ezekiel’s constant reference to the date of Jeconiah’s 
captivity, B.c. 597. The ‘thirtieth year,’ however, in ch. 1, belongs 
to a different computation, and possibly refers to the prophet’s own 
life, or else, as has been conjectured, to the accession of Nabopolassar, 
father of Nebuchadnezzar, in B. o. 625. 

Years beginning at different times.—The above epochs severally 
begin on different months and days: the Assyrian year commencing 
(like the Jewish) at the new moon before the vernal equinox; the era 


of Nabonassar on Feb. 26; the Olympiads about July 1, the day of the 


full moon following the summer solstice ; a.v.c., April2t; the Seleucid 
era, Sept. 1. This has to be borne in mind in comparing the several 
chronologies. 


NEW TESTAMENT CHRONOLOGY 329 


New Testament Chronology. 


202. New Testament Chronology.—This is fixed by 
a few important dates; the Consular lists of the Roman 
Empire being an accurate guide. 


It must be noted that the ‘year of our Lord,’ the conventional era, 
from which the dates before and after (s.c. and a.p.) are all reckoned, 
is only an approximation. The year was fixed by the calculations of 
Dionysius the Little, a Roman monk in the days of the Emperor 
Justinian, as a.U.c. 753 (see § 201, 4). As it is certain, however, that 
our Lord was born before the death of Herod the Great (a.v.c. 750), 
the calculation was plainly incorrect by at least three years, and 
although certainty as to the exact time of Christ’s birth is unattainable 
it was probably about a. u.c. 749, i.e. in B.C. 4 or 5. The question, 
however, is not important, and the conventional landmark of time 
will no doubt be always retained. 


The New Testament gives but few direct notes of time. 
Such as are specified are mainly connected with the Roman 
annals 2. 

1. Lu 3}, ‘the fifteenth year of Tiberius,’ i.e. from the 
time when Tiberius was associated with Augustus in the 
imperial government (a. vU.c. 765). This gives a.u.c. 780 or 
A.D. 27 as the date of John’s ministry. At the same time 
our Lord was ‘about thirty years of age,’ Lu 3%—about 
thirty-three, therefore, at the time of His crucifixion, which 
for that and other reasons is generally assigned to A. D. 30. 

2. Jn 2”, ‘Forty and six years’ from the time of Herod’s 
undertaking the restoration of the Temple. This work was 


* See the full and careful discussion in Hastings’ Dictionary of the 
Bible, art. ‘ Chronology of the New Testament,’ by C. H. Turner, M.A. ; 
also Harnack’s Chronologie, 1897. These works review and in part 
reconstruct Wieseler’s view (Chronologie, 1848). There is a brief and 
interesting paper on ‘The Chronology of St. Paul’s Life and Letters’ 
in Bishop Lightfoot’s Biblical Essays (1863), published after his death. 
Compare Prof. Ramsay’s St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen ; and, 
for the date of our Lord’s birth, his later book, Was Christ born at 
Bethlehem? (1898). 


“sae 
- ma > 


° 


330 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE > 


begun, according to Josephus, in the eighteenth year of 
Herod’s reign*, or B, c. 19, which would give a. D. 27 or 28 
for the date specified in the text. 

3. Ac 12%, the death of Herod Agrippa. This was 
A.D. 44. This date is useful, as throwing light upon the 
time of the conversion and mission of the Apostle Paul. 

4. Accession of Nero, the ‘Cesar’ of Ac 25°", &., to 
the imperial throne, a. D. 54. 

5. Ac 2477. Appointment of Festus as successor to Felix, 
as procurator of Judza, a.p. 60, according to the generally 
received view >. 

6. The great persecution under Nero, beginning A. pD. 64, 
three or four years therefore after Paul’s arrival in Rome, 
and about two years after his first trial and acquittal. 
During these two years, it is probable, the Apostle began 
a final and extended missionary journey. 

With the help of the above data, a tolerably certain 
New Testament Chronology may be constructed, so far 
as relates to the general history. A question yet more 
important is that of the succession and the dates of the 
several New Testament books, especially of the Epistles. 
This must be settled chiefly by internal evidence. See the 
Introductions in Part II of the present work. 


An outline of the Chronology of both Old and New Testaments will 
be found in the CHRonoLoGicaAL APPENDIX. 


203. The incidental lessons drawn from a comparison 
of dates are numerous and interesting. A few only can be 
mentioned here; but the study of the subject might be 
profitably extended. 


The judgement against the house of Eli, in Shiloh, was first executed 
in the death of his sons, but it was not completed till eighty years 


®* Jos. Ant. xv. 11, § 1. Herod began to reign B.c. 37. 

» See the discussion in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, where strong 
reasons are given for dating the appointment of Festus two years 
earlier, 


LESSONS FROM CHRONOLOGY 331 


afterwards, in the forfeiture of office by Abiathar (1 Ki 27627), God 
visits surely though slowly. 

The sin that most dishonoured David’s character was committed 
when he was fifty years of age. An instructive illustration of the 
power of temptation, continuing through the life even of a servant of 
the Lord. 

From 2 Ki 231° we learn that the places built to Ashtoreth remained 
till the days of Josiah, or for 350 years: Solomon may have died 
penitent; yet the consequences of his sin were felt for several 
generations. 

The date of the First Epistle to Timothy, a. p. 64, nearly thirty years 
after the conyersion of St. Paul, adds great weight to his declaration 
that he was the chief of sinners. He never ceased, it is plain, to 
cherish a deep sense of his sinfulness. We may measure our progress 
in holiness by the degree of our humility, r Tim 1. 

Some commentators have supposed that 2 Cor 11° refers to the 
events recorded in Ac 27; but, in fact, the epistle was written before 
those events took place. Others have unthinkingly connected the 
Apostle’s fight with beasts at Ephesus, 1 Cor 155°, with the tumult in the 
theatre, Ac 191, which occurred after the epistle was written. No doubt 
the reference is to some earlier and unrecorded conflict with infuriated 
opponents, hardly with beasts in the amphitheatre. It may be noted 
that the references here and elsewhere (as 1 Cor 4") are so vivid as 
to suggest personal experience. 

The man of sin mentioned in 2 Th 2° has been referred by Grotius 
and others to Caligula; but the epistle was not written till twelve 
years after that emperor’s death. 

The precept of Peter, 1 Pet 21”, ‘Honour the king,’ derives additional 
force from the fact that the tyrant Nero was then emperor of the 
Roman world. 

More than 600 years elapsed between the promise given to Abraham 
and its accomplishment under Joshua : and not fewer than 400 between 
the prophecy of Malachi and its fulfilment in John the Baptist. ‘A 
thousand years are with the Lord as one day:’ though the promise 
tarry long, we are to wait for it. 


This knowledge is thus seen to be especially important in 
interpreting prophecy, both to enable us to ascertain the 
event foretold, and to perceive the accomplishment. 





a 


; o Be LS 
332 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Natural History. 


Many of the allusions and expressions of Scripture can be 
explained only by the aid of knowledge of natural history. 


204. The vegetable world yields almost innumerable 
allusions, as will be seen by consulting Appenprx II, ‘ Plants 
of Scripture.’ 


The Bride in the Canticles says, ‘I am a rose of Sharon, a lily 
of the valleys.’ The plain of Sharon was covered in the early spring 
with innumerable flowers, and the maiden in her humility likens her- 
self to a wild flower of the plain, probably the common narcissus, 
or else ‘the scarlet anemone which paints the plains of Palestine with 
its bright flowers from February to April’ (Carruthers). 

In Ps 92" it is said that ‘the righteous shall flourish like the palm,’ 
and the habits of this tree beautifully illustrate the character of the 
righteous. The palm grows not in the depths of the forest, or in 
a fertile loam, but in the desert. Its verdure often springs apparently 
from the scorching dust. ‘It is in this respect,’ says Laborde, ‘as 
a friendly lighthouse, guiding the traveller to the spot where water 
is to be found.’ The tree is remarkable for its beauty, its erect, aspiring 
growth, its leafy canopy, its waving plumes, the emblem of praise in 
all ages. Its very foliage is the symbol of joy and exultation. It 
never fades, and the dust never settles upon it. It was therefore 
twisted into the booths of the Feast of Tabernacles (Ley 23*°), was 
borne aloft by the multitude that accompanied the Messiah to Jeru- 
salem (Jn 12'5), and it is represented as in the hands of the redeemed 
in heaven (Rev 7°). For usefulness, the tree is unrivalled. Gibbon 
says that the natives of Syria speak of 360 uses to which the palm 
is applied. Its shade refreshes the traveller. Its fruit restores his 
strength. When his soul fails for thirst, it announces water. Date- 
stones are ground for his camels. Its leaves are made into couches, 
its boughs into fences and walls, and its fibres into ropes or rigging. 
Its best fruit, moreover, is borne in old age; the finest dates being 
often gathered when the tree has reached a hundred years. It sends, 
too, from the same root a large number of suckers, which, in time, 
form a forest by their growth (Judg 4°). What an emblem of the 
righteous in the desert of a guilty world! It is not uninstructive to 
add that this tree, once the symbol of Palestine, is now rarely seen in 
that country. 

Another beautiful tree found in Palestine, and also an emblem of 


NATURAL HISTORY 333 


the Christian, is the cedar. ‘The righteous shall grow like the cedar.’ 
This tree strikes its roots into the cloven rock. Like the palm, it loves 
the water; and if the wells near which it grows are dried, it withers, 
or ceases to grow. As its roots stretch away into the mountain, its 
boughs are spread abroad. Like the palm, it is an evergreen; though 
used to wintry weather, it is always covered with leaves. Its bark 
and leaves are highly aromatic, and the ‘smell of Lebanon’ has 
become a proverb for fragrance. The cedar is sound to the very core. 
It adorns the mountain’s brow, and then does service in the Temple. 
After living a thousand years, it preserves all it touches, and gives 
beauty to the lintels and ceiling of the house of the Lord. Such is 
the character and influence of a resolute and consistent Christian. 

In the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the latter name denotes 
the darnel, a noxious plant which closely resembles wheat until in 
ear, so that it would be unsafe, perhaps impossible, to distinguish the 
two during the earlier stages of their growth. The darnel also reaches 
maturity before the wheat is ripe, so that the distinction becomes 
easier *, 

The ‘ oil’ of the olive berry soothes pain, and by closing the pores 
of the body against noxious exhalations, promotes health. It was 
thought peculiarly successful in counteracting the effect of poison, and 
hence it is often used to describe the power of the gospel. Its medicinal 
properties (see Jas 5'*) made it of great commercial value : hence it is 
said that ‘ he that loveth oil shall not be rich.’ 

The ‘myrrh’ and ‘balm’ (or balsam) of the East are strongly 
aromatic gums, which flow spontaneously, or by means of incision, 
from the trees, and were in great request as articles of commerce. 
The balm of Gilead, Jer 8??, was deemed a very valuable medicine, 
and the expression is used figuratively to indicate any great remedy 
or restorative. 


205. The animal kingdom furnishes emblems equally 
striking. 


In Dt 32" God is said to have taught Israel as the eagle trains her 
young. When the eaglets are old enough to fly, she stirs up her nest, 
separates its parts, and compels the young birds to fly to some neigh- 
bouring crag; she then flutters over them, teaching them to move 
their wings and to sustain and guide themselves by their movements. 
Finding them weary or unwilling, she spreads her wings, takes her 
brood upon her back, and soars with them aloft. In order to exercise 


* See Tristram’s Natural History of the Bible, p. 487, and the article in 
Hastings’ Dict. Bible, s. v. 





their strength, she then shakes them off; and when she perceives that 


their pinions flag, or that an enemy is near, she darts beneath them 
with surprising skill, and at once restores their strength, or places her 
own body between her young and the danger that threatens them. 
The eagle is the only bird endowed with this instinct, and the whole 
of her procedure is suggestive of instructive lessons in relation to the 
dealings of God. In the history of ancient Israel, and in the history 
of the Church, it is found that He weans His people from their resting- 
place—in Egypt, in the world, and in their own righteousness—by 
means of affliction : He stirs up the nest. By the life and character 
of His Son, by the influence of His Spirit, by the example of the wise 
and good, He flutters over them; while His promises sustain their 
hearts, and make their happiness and safety as sure and unchanging 
as His own. 

In mountainous countries like Palestine, the ass was often pre- 
ferred, on account of its sureness of foot, to the horse. It was 
also much larger than in Britain, more like the ass in the south 
of Spain. Asses are consequently enumerated among the riches of 
Abraham and Job, Gen 12! Job 42%. Mephibosheth, the grandson 
of Saul, rode upon an ass; as did Ahithophel, the prime minister of 
David ; and as late as the reign of Jehoram, the son of Ahab, the 
services of this animal were required by the wealthy. The Shunam- 
mite, for example, a person of high rank, saddled her ass and rode 
to Carmel, the residence of Elisha, 2 Ki 484. In later times, however, 
and even from the reign of Solomon, the paces of the horse began 
to be regarded as more stately and noble. Solomon himself intro- 
duced a numerous stud of the finest horses—horses of Arabia; and 
after the return of the Jews from Babylon, their great men rode for 
the most part on horses or mules. It soon became, therefore, a mark 
of poverty or of humility to appear in public on an ass, and this was 
the impression generally prevalent in the time of our Lord. (Compare 
Zee 9? with Mt 21*-*.) 

The Hebrews employed both the ox and the ass in ploughing the 
ground, Is 30° 327°; but they were forbidden to yoke them to the 
same plough, partly because of their unequal step, and partly because 
the animals never associated happily together. This prohibition may 
perhaps suggest the impropriety of intercourse between Christians 
and idolaters in social and religious life; but it was intended in the 
first instance, and chiefly, to protect the animals from cruel treat 
ment. ’ 

Issachar is compared to an ass; and vigour and bodily strength are 
suggested by the comparison. It is said also that he should bow his 
shoulder to bear, and prefer the yoke of bondage to the difficult issues 
of war, and inglorious ease to just freedom, Gen 49: a prediction 


NATURAL HISTORY 335 


fulfilled in the history of that tribe, who submitted successively to the 
Phoenicians on the one hand, and to the Canaanites on the other. 

The tail of the Syrian sheep is much larger than in other breeds. In 
a sheep weighing seventy pounds, the tail will often weigh fifteen ; 
and it is deemed the most delicate part of the animal. Hence, in the 
religious ritual of the Hebrews, the priest is commanded to take the fat 
and the fat tail (R. V., Lev 3°), and present them in sacrifice to Jehovah. 
Both were to be placed on the altar, to indicate the completeness and 

_ the value of the offering. In its domesticated state, the sheep is 
a weak and defenceless animal. It is therefore dependent upon the 
shepherd both for protection and support. To the disposition of these 
animals to wander from the fold, and thus to abandon themselves (in 
a country like Judea) to destruction, there are many touching allu- 
sions in Seripture, Ps 119178 Is 53°. The Eastern shepherd calls his 
sheep, and they recognize his voice and follow him. His care of them, 
and their security under his protection, are beautifully set forth in 
Jn to". Tt is plain that a knowledge of their habits is essential to 
a right appreciation of the imagery of Scripture. 

The lion is remarkable for strength and fierceness. If he retreats 
from an enemy, he retreats, as if in angry defiance, with his face 
towards him. After he has killed his victim, he tears it in pieces, 
and devours it with the utmost greediness, Ps 17! Ho 13°. The 
young lion subsists, according to ancient naturalists, by hunting, 
and seldom quits the deserts; but when he has grown old he visits 
more frequented places, and becomes more dangerous to man. The 
lion thus became the special terror of pastoral people ; and the extent 
and variety of its ravages are suggested by the fact that no fewer than 
five distinct words are used in the Hebrew Scriptures to describe 
the ‘king of beasts.’ See Appenpix II, ‘ Natural History.’ One of the 
coverts of this animal was in the low ground in the neighbour- 
hood of the Jordan, which, like the Nile, overflows its banks every 
spring. At that season, therefore, the coverts were laid under water, 
and the wild beasts were all driven to the hills, where they often 
committed great ravages, Jer 49'°. ‘Like a lion from the swelling of 
Jordan’ thus became a proverb in Juda, which comparatively recent 
discovery has enabled us to understand. ‘The power of God to strike 
terror into the hearts of the impenitent, and to impart comfort to 
His people, is compared to the roaring of the lion, Joel 3'® The 
savage disposition of the lion is sometimes referred to, and then 
always in a bad sense. In 1 Pet 5° Satan is compared to a lion, and 
the enemies of the people of Jehovah are represented under the same 
name, Is 57°. 


eae Tes 


336 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Manners and Customs of the Hebrews. 


A knowledge of the manners and customs of the Jews 
is of great service in interpreting Scripture. 

206. Habitations.—The founders of the Israelitish 
nation were a tent-dwelling people. Tents are mentioned 
in the earliest parts of the history, and seem naturally 
associated with pastoral life, Gen 4*°. The first tents were 
covered with skins, Ex 2614, but the coverings of most of 
those mentioned in Scripture were of goats’ hair, spun and 
woven by the women, Ex 35%°: hence their black colour, 
Ct 1°: tents of linen were used only occasionally, for 
holiday or travelling purposes. The early tent was probably 
such as is still seen in Arabia, of an oblong shape, and eight 
or ten feet high in the middle. Sometimes a person of 
consequence had three or four tents: one for himself, another 
for his wives, a third and fourth for his servants and 
strangers, Gen 24°"; more commonly, however, a very large 
tent was divided by curtains into two or three compart- 
ments. The holy tabernacle was formed on this model, 
Ex 2631-37, 

Of huts, the intermediate erection between the tent and the house, 
we read but little in Scripture. Jacob seems to have used them to 
shelter his cattle, Gen 331, and we find them in later times erected 
in vineyards to protect those who watched the ripening produce, — 
Job 2738 Is 1°. 

The Israelites probably saw good houses in Egypt; on entering 
Palestine, however, they occupied the houses which their predecessors 
had built, and afterwards constructed their own on the same model. 
Domestic architecture must have made progress during the monarchy. 
Solomon’s palace, built by the aid of Phoenicians, no doubt suggested 
improvements. Jeremiah (22!) indicates some grandeur in building, 
and in the days of our Lord the upper classes at all events had 
gathered instruction from the rules even of Grecian art. 


The houses of the poor in the East were generally built of mud, 
and thus became appropriate images of the frailty of human life. The 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 337 


walls were easily broken or ‘digged’ through, and the houses as easily 
destroyed, Job 241° Eze 12° Mt 61°. 

The houses of the rich were of a different order. They had generally 
four sides, of which one fronted the street, haying only a door, and 
one or two small windows above. The door opened into a porch, and 
the porch led by a side door into a waiting-room, and the waiting- 
room into a four-sided court, open at the top, and surrounded by the 
inner walls of the house. There were often covered walks by the 
walls on the ground-floor ; while above them was a gallery of the same 
dimensions. Opposite the passage leading from the waiting-room into 
the court, was the guest-chamber, Lu 22, where the master received 
visitors, and occasionally transacted business. The roof was flat, 
surrounded on the outside by a breast-work or battlement : and on the 
side next the court, by a balustrade of lattice-work. The stairs to the 
roof, and to each story of the building, were generally in a corner of 
the quadrangle nearest the entrance, so that each visitor ascended to 
the roof, and to each of the rooms, without passing through the rooms 
below. In summer the people slept on the roof, and at all times it 
was used as a place of devotion, of mourning, and of rest. At the 
Feast of Tabernacles tents were erected here, and during festivals or 
public rejoicings the guests often assembled in the square below, which 
was sometimes covered. 

These facts explain the following passages, and many others: 
Dt 228 1 Sa 9” 2 Sa 11? Is 22! Mk 2* 1345 Ac 10%. 

The doors of Eastern houses were double, and moved on pivots: they 
were secured by bars (Dt 3° Judg 16°) of wood, or of metal, Is 45%. 
Ancient locks were merely wooden slides, secured by teeth or catches, 
Ct 5%. The street doors, as well as the gates of towns, were adorned 
with inscriptions taken from the Law, Dt 6°. The windows had 
no glass, but were latticed: in winter they were covered with 
thin veils, or with shutters having holes sufficient to admit light, 
t Ki 7* Ct 2°. 

No ancient houses had chimneys, though holes were sometimes 
made, through which the smoke escaped, Ho 13°. In the better class 
of houses the rooms were warmed by charcoal, as is still the practice 
in the East, Jer 362? Jn 1818. 


Furniture.—The articles of household furniture in use 
in the Hast have always been few and small. In sitting- 
rooms, little chairs or seats and sometimes tables appear, 
Mk 1454. The seat was either a rug or mat, on which the 
people sat cross-legged, or with their knees bent under them, 
or a legged seat, such as chairs and stools, 1 Sa 19 1 Ki 29 

Zz 


338 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


Pr 9 Mt 211°. The beds consisted generally of mattresses 
and quilted coverlets ; sheets, blankets, and bedsteads were 
not known, though on the house-tops a settee of wood, or 
a legged frame of palm branches or, in some cases, of ivory, 
was used, on which to place the bed, Ps 132° Am 6+, 


The common domestic utensils were of earthenware, or of copper, 
and a few were of leather: they consisted of pots, kettles, leather 
bottles (‘wine-skins,’ R.V.), plates, cups, &c. ; lamps fed with olive 
oil were used for giving light at night, and were of earth or of metal : 
in the houses of the rich they were placed upon stands (called in the 
A.V. candlesticks), and these had occasionally branches for several 
lamps, Gen 1517 Ex 25°!-*. A lamp was always kept burning at night, 
Job 18° Pr 20°, The bushel (note the def. article) or ephah (§ 212) 
was a customary piece of furniture in the house, Lu 11°, &e. 


207. Cities and Towns.—The towns of Palestine were 
small in size, but very numerous. Jerusalem, Samaria, and 
afterwards Cxsarea, seem to have been the only exceptions: 
from the want of temples and public buildings (except at 
Jerusalem), they must have had but a mean appearance, the 
streets being narrow, dull, and unpaved. Gates, implying 
walls, are mentioned as early as the days of Abraham, 
Gen 191. At the gates most of the public business was 
transacted, Gen 231-18 Dt 211° Ru 4!: there also the markets 
were held so long as the business of the Israelites was confined 
chiefly to the sale of their produce or flocks, 2 Ch 18° 
Ne 81-5 ; but afterwards they had, in the large towns, bazaars, 
or covered streets of shops, such as are now usual in the 
East. 


208. Dress.—The dress of the Jews consisted commonly 
of two garments: the one a close-bodied frock or shirt, 
generally with long sleeves, and reaching to a little below 
the knees, though later to the ankle: and the other, a loose 
robe of some yards in length, fastened over the shoulders, 
and thrown around the body. Within doors, the first dress 
only was often worn. It was regarded, however, as a kind 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS: DRESS 339 


of undress, in which it was not usual to pay visits, or to 
walk out. Hence persons clothed in it alone are said in 
Scripture to be naked or to have laid aside their garments, 
is20%* Jn ¥3* 21". 

The sleeves were generally sufficiently long to cover the 
hands, and were used during visits of ceremony to conceal 
them. On occasions when great or continued effort was 
required or implied, the arm was ‘made bare,’ and the sleeve 
tucked up or removed, Is 52!° Eze 4". 


The outer garment (a kind of mantle or plaid) sometimes served as 
a covering by night, or as a bed, Dt 2418 Ex 2227. The Israelites, on 
leaving Egypt, folded their kneading troughs in it. Prophets and 
others wrapped it round their heads as an expression of reverence or 
of grief, 1 Ki 194° 2 Sa 153° Est 612, or sometimes as a protection from 
the rain or wind. When gathered round the middle of the body, 
the garment is called the lap, 2 Ki 4°°; when gathered round the 
shoulders, the bosom, Ps 79! Lu 6°8. The skirt was used for the 
purpose of carrying, Hag 2!*. A considerable part of the wealth of 
Eastern nations consisted in these garments, which were easily 
exchanged, and were often given and worn as expressions of affection 
and respect, Gen 452? 2 Ki 572, 

For a single shirt, the wealthy classes sometimes substituted a shirt 
of fine linen and an outer one of coarser material, the mantle being 
worn as an additional garment. The beauty of these garments con- 
sisted not in their shape, which never varied, but in their whiteness, 
Eccl 98, and they were torn or rent in token of sorrow or repentance, 
Gen 37° Job 12°, 

The inner garment was made of either linen or cotton, the outer 
garment generally of wool, or of wool and hair. The art of embroidery 
was evidently known, Ex 35° Judg 5%°; and one family seems to 
have been peculiarly famous in the manufacture of fine linen, r Ch 
441, White, blue, and various shades of red and purple were the 
favourite colours for clothes, and no others indeed are mentioned 
in Scripture. 

Around the shirt, or inner garment, a girdle was sometimes worn, 
made of leather, fastened with clasps, 2 Ki 15, or of muslin, wound in 
many folds around the waist, Jer 131 Mt 3* ; and still more commonly 
around the mantle. To have the loins girt in this way was especially 
necessary in travelling, or when engaged in strenuous effort of any 
Kind. In the girdle a knife or sword was sometimes carried, or in the 
case of literary men, an inkhorn and pens, a Sa 20° Eze 9”: other 

Z2 


P, 
ey 


340 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


valuables were often put into it too, 1 Sa 25% 2 Sa 18! Mt ro® 
(Greek). 

Drawers were a part of the dress of the high-priest, and were 
perhaps used in later times by the people generally, Ex 28*?. 

The feet were covered with sandals, consisting of soles of leather, or 
of wood, bound to the foot by thongs or latchets, Mt 34. In trans- 
ferring land, or in passing to the next of kin any personal obligation 
connected therewith, it was customary to deliver a sandal, Ru 4’, as 
in the Middle Ages a clod or piece of turf. To remove the sandals was 
an expression of reverence, Ex 3° Dt 25°. The operation being often 
performed by servants, to loose or to carry them was a familiar symbol 
of a servile or degraded condition, Mk 17 Ac 13%° Mt 3™ Is 20%. 
Thus, according to many interpreters (Perowne, Driver), the casting 
of the shoe to Edom (Ps 60%, see R. V. marg.) signified the reduction 
of the people to servitude. Others, however, regard the phrase as 
symbolizing possession, Stockings were never in use, and the mass 
of the people went altogether barefoot, except in winter, or during 
a journey. 

The neck was generally left bare, and very frequently the head ; 
when covered, it was protected among the higher classes by a kind of 
turban, and among the common people by a piece of cloth confined by 
a fillet around the brows: in the case of women, this turban was 
connected with a veil covering the upper part of the person. 

The Israelites allowed the hair of the head and beard to grow; 
the former was occasionally cut, and the use of the razor on 
the beard was not unlawful. Baldness was rare, and was despised, 
2 Ki 2% Is 3% Jer 47°. The beard, as the sign of manhood, was much 
respected ; to shave it, to spit upon it, to pull it, even to touch it, 
except as a salutation, was a gross insult, 2Sa ro* 1 Ch 19*-® Is 7™, 
and for a man to neglect or maltreat his own beard was a sign of 
madness or of extreme grief, 1 Sa ar! 2 Sa 19% Is 15”. 


209. Food.—All the Easterns generally, and the Israelites, 
were simple and plain in their food, which consisted largely 
of bread, fruits, honey, milk, butter, and cheese. Meat was 
but little used, animal food being in some degree restricted 
by the Law, which allowed the flesh of no beasts to be eaten, 
but such as chewed the cud and parted the hoof, nor any 
fish but such as had both fins and scales, Ley r1~*, 
It was in this general way that the hog was forbidden, 
but as it was eaten in other parts of the East, this application 
of the prohibition of the Law attracted more attention than 


4 
. 


OO Ee 


MANNERS AND CUSTOMS: FOOD 341 


the rest. Blood and fat, the large lobe of the liver, and 
the kidneys were also forbidden. Poultry was used but 
sparingly, pigeons and the common fowl being the only 
domestic birds kept in Palestine, except ‘the fatted fowl,’ 
provided for the tables of Solomon and Nehemiah, 1 Ki 47° 
Ne 51%. Eggs are only twice mentioned as articles of food. 
Though fish with fins and scales were allowed, it does not 
seem that much use was made of this indulgence: the 
operations of fishing were, however, well known, Job 19° 
Is 512° Job 411 Is 19%: fish-ponds are mentioned in Ct 7!: 
fish were even brought by the Pheenicians across the 
country from the Mediterranean to Jerusalem, Ne 131°, 
and one of the gates of the city, called the Fish Gate, seems 
to have been appropriated as the place of sale, 2 Ch 33% 
Ne 3°. 

Among insects, it may be noticed that locusts were per- 
mitted to be eaten, Lev 1122, and were a common article of 
food in the East, Mt 3*. 


Bread was not baked, as with us, in loaves, but in cakes, rolls, and 
large thin biscuits, each family baking its own, and that daily. It 
was baked outside the oven, not inside; the fuel being inside, Mt 6°°. 
The modes of baking were various : the thicker roll or cake was baked 
upon the heated hearth ; the thin bread upon metal plates, or around 
the sides of earthenware vessels, or of a pit in the floor, Gen 18° 
Lev 2%45, This work, like that of grinding corn, was at first per- 
formed by the wives and daughters of families, Gen 18° 2 Sa 135% 
Jer 71°; but was in time abandoned in some cases to servants, 1 Sa 8}3, 
The bread in common use was too crisp to be cut, but was broken, 
Is 587 Lam 4* Mt 14!°. 

The Jews had generally two meals a day; one in the morning, 
between the third and sixth hours, and the other, their principal 
meal, about the eleventh hour, or five o’clock, in the cool of the day. 
At this meal, the guests all reclined on their left sides on couches, 
placed around a circular table. In this posture, the head of one guest 
approached the breast of his neighbour, upon whose bosom, therefore, 
he was said to lean. Hence Christ told John who was to betray Him, 
without the other disciples hearing His description, Jn 137° Pr 26", 
The feet were stretched out from the table, and were of course first 
reached by any one entering the room, Lu 7°*. Hence it is said that 


342 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE { 
the woman who washed our Lord’s feet stood behind Him. This 
practice was borrowed from the Persians: in earlier times the Jews 
probably used seats, or sat, as is the present custom in the East, round 
a table raised only a few inches from the ground. 

The food was taken by the hand,*without aid of knife or fork, and 
hence the practice of washing before and after meals, Mk 7°. In very 
early times each guest had his own portion, Gen 43°4; see 1 Sa 1°: 
but later, all ate from the same dish. 

The ordinary beverage taken, not during the meal, but afterwards, 
was water, or wine diluted with water. A common acid wine diluted 
in this way is called in our English version ‘ vinegar,’ and was the 
usual drink of labourers and soldiers, Ru 2 Mt®7*. This was what 
the soldiers gave our Lord when He cried, ‘I thirst.” The beverage pre- 
viously offered Him, ‘vinegar and gall,’ or ‘ wine and myrrh,’ Mt 27°* 
Mk 157°, was given to persons about to be executed, in order to stupefy 
them. Our blessed Lord refused to drink it. Im full consciousness 
He endured the Cross. 

The beverage with which each guest was supplied was in ancient 
times handed to him in a separate cup, ready mixed by the host: and 
hence the word ‘cup’ is frequently used to signify a man’s lot or portion, 
Ps 11° Is 517” Mt 26°%. ‘Mixed wine,’ in the English version, was not 
wine and water, but wine made stronger by spices, Pr 23°. ‘Strong 
drink’ included a very inebriating liquor made from dates and 
various seeds, Ley 10° 1 Sa 1®. 

Not unfrequently, precious oils were used at banquets for anointing 
the guests, Ps 23° 457 Am 6°. Christ was thus honoured by the 
woman, Mt 26’. She broke the box or jar in proof of the purity of the 
oil ; the neck being sealed, to show that it was an imported perfume, 
Mk 14°. 

The principal meal, being in the evening of the day, was generally 
called supper. The light and joy within the house on such occasions 
were often employed to represent the happiness of heaven, while the 
darkness without, the ‘outer darkness,’ was employed to shadow forth 
the misery of the lost, Mt 8”. 


Taxation 


210. Taxation and Tribute.—The system of taxation 
employed in Palestine before the days of the Romans is not 
clearly defined. The royal revenue, however, consisted in 
part in presents, 1 Sa 107’ 162° 2 Ch 17°; in the produce of 
the royal flocks, 1 Sa 217 2 Ch 26'° 32*5-*9; in lands and 


TAXATION 343 


vineyards either confiscated or reclaimed from a state of 
nature by the sovereign, 1 Ki 219-16 1 Ch 27”8; in tribute, 
probably a tenth of the income of the people, 1 Sa 84 177° 
(see Gesenius); in the plunder of conquered nations, 2 Ch 
27°; and in payments imposed upon merchants passing 
through the territory, 1 Ki ro. Later still we find, pro- 
bably in place of some of the above, a toll and a tax on 
articles of consumption, corresponding to our excise, Ezr 
41.19.20. Both these were of Persian or Assyrian origin. 
Of the system of taxation prevalent in the time of our Lord, 
we have more accurate information. 

Soon after Judza was reduced to a province of the Roman 
Empire, an enrolment was made of the names and fortunes 
of the citizens. This enrolment was made by households, 
after the Roman fashion, being prudently disguised by 
Herod by being made tribal also. On this enrolment was 
founded a capitation tax or ‘tribute.’ This tax was levied 
by the magistrates of each city. It occasioned much division 
of opinion in Judea, and gave rise to more than one in- 
surrection, Ac 5°”. Our Lord was urged to identify Himself 
with its advocates or opponents, Mt 2217. The tax was paid 
to collectors, either in Roman money (the denarius, or 
penny) or in Grecian (the drachma). If paid in the latter, 
however, the coin had to be changed by the traders, or 
‘money-changers,’ as Roman money only was received at 
the Roman treasury. 

Besides this census or head tax, there were customs duties, 
or taxes on exports and imports, Mt 9°. These were fixed’ 
by law, and were levied by revenue farmers through their 
servants. These servants are called publicans in the New 
Testament, and the farmers of the revenue, chiefs of the 
publicans. This system of farming the revenue proved 
a strong temptation to the publicans, who were generally 
unpopular. 

The third public tax in Judea was the half-shekel 


344. THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


required by the Law to be paid by every Jew into the Temple 
treasury (Ex 30"), It was always paid in Jewish money, 
and by all Jews, even by those who lived out of Palestine. 
The money-changers who sat in the Temple provided this 
Jewish money in exchange for Greek and Roman coins, 
Mt 21'* Jn 2", This tax was regarded as paid to God: when 
therefore our Lord intimated to Peter that the children of 
kings are exempt from tribute, He implied that He Himself 
was the Son of the Father, Mt 17°. 

This distinction between the different kinds of taxes is 
always observed in the original of the New Testament, and 
generally in the English translations. 


Modes of Reckoning 


Jewish measures only approximate.—A knowledge of 
the modes of reckoning employed in Biblical times will 
illustrate many passages. The subject, however, has its un- 
certainties, from the want of precise and permanent standards, 
from the different usages of the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and 
Babylonians, by all of whom the Jews were in turns in- 
fluenced, as well as from the various accounts given by the 
authorities, as (e.g.) by Josephus and the Rabbins. The 
following account, however, contains the nearest possible 
approximations, ; 

211. Linear Measure. 1. Measures of Length. The 
shorter measures are taken from the human frame; see 
Dt 8", ‘after the cubit of a man.’ The finger (breadth), 
the hand-breadth or palm, and the span explain themselves. 
The cubit, which was the general standard, represented the 
length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle 
finger, and was therefore variously estimated at from 
17 to 22 inches. There was an ancient cubit, 2 Ch 8°, and 
in later times an extended cubit, Eze 40° 41%, but their 
respective lengths are unknown. The Siloam inscription 


MODES OF RECKONING 345 


discovered in 1880 on the wall of ‘Hezekiah’s Tunnel,’ 
from the Valley of Kidron through the cliff to the Fountain 
of Siloam, appears to state the length as ‘1,200 cubits.’ 
It has been discovered by measurement to be 1,758 English 
feet. In Hezekiah’s day, therefore, the length of the cubit 
was approximately 173 inches, or 450 millimetres. In 
New Testament times the cubit was certainly longer—say 
between 20 and a1 inches or 525 millimetres. 


Table I. 


The following table shows the proportion between the cubit and 
other dimensions :— 

Digit or finger-breadth (Jer 527!) = about ? inch or 19 mm. 

Palm or hand-breadth = 4 digits (Ex 25°), nearly 3} inches or 75mm. 

Span=3 palms (Ex 2816 1 Sa 17‘), about 10} inches, 225 mm. 

Oubit=2 spans, at various times 17 to 21 inches, 450-475 mm. 

Ezekiel’s reed (ch. 40 throughout) =6 long cubits, about 10 feet. 

Fathom »=4 cubits, between 6 and 7 feet, or about 2 metres. In New 
Testament only. 

Furlong or stadium (Lu 24'5 Jn 67° 1118) = 606 feet. 

Mile (Mt 54") = 3,000 cubits or 73 furlongs, about 1,700 yards. 

Sabbath-day’s journey (Ac 1? only), traditionally 2,000 cubits °. 

Indeterminate measures are expressed by the phrase ‘a measure of 
distance’ (Heb. kibrath), Gen 351° 48’ 2 Ki 5%, by some held to be 
definite, and to correspond to the Persian parasang; also by the 
designation ‘a day’s journey’ (Old Testament frequent, New Testa- 
ment Lu 2**). This, no doubt, varied with the lucality and occasion. 


2. A measure of Area is once mentioned: the tsemed, 
1 Sa 14 Is 5!°, rendered ‘acre’ A. V. and R.V. Itis defined 
as the area which could be ploughed by a yoke of oxen in 
one day. Compare the Lat. iwgerwm, acre, from iugum, yoke. 


® See Records of the Past, vol. i. (new series) p. 168, and Sayce’s Fresh 
Light from Ancient Monuments, p. 82. 

> Originally the length between the extremities of the arm out- 
stretched at right angles with the body. 

¢ According to the Rabbins the distance from the extremities of the . 
camp in the wilderness to the tabernacle in the centre. So Jerus. 
Targ. on Ex 167°, ‘Let no man go walking from this place beyond two 
thousand cubits on the seventh day.’ 


346 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 





The Latin acre was 240 feet by 120, or 28,809 square feet ; 
the English acre measures 43,560 square feet. Probably the 
tsemed was smaller than our acre in about the same pro- 
portion ; but the exact dimensions are unknown. 


212. Measures of Capacity.— Dry and liquid measures 
had some points in common. In both the standard was 
equal in contents. In liquid measure the bath, in dry 
the ephah, contained a little over 84 gallons or 36-36 litres. 
See Eze 4511. 

Table II. Liquid Measure. 

Lig (Lev 14 only), rather more than § of a pint, 0-505 litre. 

Hin (often in Pent.) =12 liégs; 1 gal. 3 pints, about 6-6 litres. 

Bats (1 Ki 7° Eze 45"°)=6 hins ; 8} gals. ; 36-36 litres. 

Firkin in New Testament (Jn 2° metr2tzs) =Old Testament Bath. 

Pot (Mk 74), sextarius, nearly 1 pint. 


Table III. Dry Measure. 


It is observable that in Is 5! the Heb. ephah is translated by the 
LXX three measures. This throws light upon Mt 13%, as noticed below. 

Qab (2 Ki 6*5 only), 3} pints nearly. 

Chenix (Rev 6° only, tr. ‘ measure ’)=Old Testament Qab. ; 

‘Omer (Ex 16), tenth part of an ephah (see Lev 14", &. R. V.). 

Seah (Gen 18° 1 Sa 25)), third part of an ephah. 

Erxau, the standard measure ; see Barn above, 8} gals. nearly. 

Homer (chomer, Pent. and Eze 45) = 10 ephahs; 82} gals. ; 363 litres. 

Cor (1 Ki 51"), the same with chomer : also liquid. 


213. Weights and Coins.—Here the shekel (shegel)* is 
the standard: and payments were made by weight long 
before the coinage of money. 


Aliquot paris of the shekel. Multiples of the shekel. 
Gerah (bean), one-twentieth. Maneh (portion), fifty. 
Bega (cloven), one-half. Talent (circle), three thousand. 


The weight of the shekel varied at different times from 


* The weight of the sacred shekel, ‘shekel of the sanctuary,’ Ex 30%, 
is variously understood. The best opinion seems to be, not that it 
was different from the ordinary shekel, but that it was a true standard 
weight, preserved in the tabernacle and certified by authority. 


MODES OF RECKONING 347 


218 to 224 English grains, 14-54 grammes. (The English 
pound avoirdupois, it will be remembered, contains 7,000 
grains; the pound troy, 5,760.) Hence the following table. 


Table IV. Weight. 

Gerah (Ex 3015 Ley 277° Num 3%? 1816). 

Bega (Gen 247” Ex 38°°)=ten gerahs. 

SHEKEL (often), lit. ‘weight’=2 beqas; about } oz. avoird. 

Mamneh (1 Ki to! Eze 45) °, uva, mina, ‘pound’=50 shekels. 

Talent (Hx 38°4-°5 & 2 Ki 55, &c.) =3,000 shekels. 

Pound in New Testament (Jn 12° 19%), the Roman pound, about 
II ounces. 

Tulent in New Testament (Rev 16”), perhaps the Attic talent, about 
% cwt. 


Money. 


This was reckoned by weight, no coinage properly so 
called existing in Palestine before the Captivity. Im Hebrew 
the verb ‘to pay’ is literally ‘to weigh,’ Gen 23!°*!° 331° 
Ezr 8° Jer 32°. The payment is called gésitah in Gen 33” 
Jos 245% Job 421', explained by ancient interpreters as lamb 
(LXX and A.V. marg.), as though the figure of a lamb 
enstamped upon the metal were a sign of value (transition 
from a state of barter), But this explanation is now 
generally given up, and the word is taken to mean simply 
“a piece of money,’ value not stated, although sometimes 
estimated at 4 shekels. 

The shekel was the standard of value, as of weight: so 
fully recognized that the word is often omitted, ‘a hundred 


® From a comparison of 1 Ki 10! with 2 Ch 9g} it appears that 
3 manehs = 300 shekels ; hence t maneh=1Ioo shekels ; while Eze 45!" 
seems to intimate that the maneh=20+25+15, or 60 shekels. But 
- the passage, as it stands, is obscure, and the Alex. MS. of the LXX 
reads the verse ‘ Five (shekels) shall be five and ten shekels ten, and 
fifty shekels shall be your maneh’: that is, all your weights shall be 
genuine. Undoubtedly the later Jewish weight system gives the 
maneh as 50 shekels. 


348 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE ; 


... of silver’ meaning a hundred shekels of silver. It was 
first coined, as a mark of Jewish independence, in the time 
of Simon Maccabeus, about s.c. 140. Shekels, and half and 
quarter shekels, &c., were struck in gold, silver, and bronze, 
generally bearing the inscription in Hebrew letters, ‘The 
Redemption of Zion *.’ 

In the New Testament the word shekel does not occur ; 
but the stater (4 Greek drachmas) is taken as the equivalent 
Mt 172’. The half-shekel, accordingly (the amount of the 
Temple tax, Ex 301°), appears in the Gospel as the ‘ double 
drachma,’ Mt 17%. The use of Greek and Roman with 
Palestinian coins occasioned many complications; and the 
calling of the money-changer was therefore necessary, 


j 
4 


especially in the precincts of the Temple, where the priests _ 
could accept only the native money. See § 210. (English — 


readers will note in the table a further slight confusion 
through the rendering of two words expressing different 
values alike by farthing.) 


Table V. 
Mite (Mk 12‘), one-eighth of the Roman as. 
‘ Farthing’ (1) (Mt 57° Mk ra‘), quadrans, 2 mites. 
‘Farthing’ (2) (Mt 10*° Lu r2°), ‘assarion,’ the Roman as = 4 farthings (1). 
Penny (often), Lat. denarius= 16 asses. 
‘ Piece of silver’ (Lu 15*°), drachma= Roman denarius. 
‘Tribute money’ (Mt 1774) =2 drachmas (4 shekel). 
‘ Piece of money’ (Mt 17°”), a stater or shekel=4 drachmas, 
* Pieces of silver’ (Mt 26% 27°), unquestionably shekels. 


The monetary value of these coins cannot usefully be 
expressed by modern standards. Generally speaking, the 
denarius, drachma, or (silver) ‘penny’ is reckoned at about 
8d., the shekel or stater at about half a crown; the as there- 
fore at a halfpenny, the assarion at half a farthing, the 
quadrans at the eighth of a farthing. But this says nothing 


* See The Money of the Bible, by G. C. Williamson, D.Litt. (‘ By-Paths 
of Bible Knowledge’ series, R. T. S., 1894). 


MODES OF RECKONING 349 


as to the purchasing power of these coins®. The table 
shows only the mutual proportion of the different moneys. 


214. The Lessons of the different tables are manifold :-— 


From Table V we learn to admire the noble disinterestedness of 
Elisha. Naaman offered him 6,000 pieces or shekels of gold, and ten 
talents (30,000 shekels) of silver, 2 Ki 5°. This was the temptation 

under which Gehazi fell, and yet it did not excuse his guilt. 
' The same table illustrates strikingly the unreasonableness of an 
unforgiving spirit and the aggravations of our own guilt. The debtor, 
who threw his fellow-servant into prison because he owed him 
a hundred denarii (25 shekels), had himself been forgiven 10,000 
talents, or thirty millions of shekels, Mt 187+. 

How clearly does it illustrate the prophetic words, ‘ He was despised 
and rejected of men,’ to find that Judas betrayed our Lord for thirty 
shekels, the price paid for a slave when killed by a beast, Ex 21°. 

We learn by the aid of Tables II and III the displeasure of God 
against covetousness. 

‘Ten acres of vineyard (says the prophet) shall yield one bath, and 
the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah,’ Is 51°. 

That is, one acre of land shall yield less than a gallon of wine, and 
nine-tenths of the seed shall perish. Famine is thus declared to be 
among Divine judgements against sin. Compare Rev 6° with Tables 
III and V,‘A measure (chenix) of wheat for a penny (denarius)’ 
—a very small quantity purchasable for a whole day’s wages, Mt 202, 


215. Reckoning of Time: the Day.—The natural 
day with the Jews was from sunrise to sunset (as with the 
Romans), and was divided (after the Captivity) into twelve 
hours of unequal length. The civil day (the day used in 
common reckoning) was from six in the evening to six 
the next evening; differing in this respect from the Roman 
civil day, which, like ours, was from midnight to midnight. 
This was divided again into night and day of equal length. 

The night was divided, in very early times, into three 


* The American Revisers proposed to render denarius as ‘ shilling,’ 
and assarion as ‘penny,’ and have adopted these translations in their 
edition of the R.V. It may be noted here that the comparison of 
Mt 57° ‘the uttermost farthing’ (assarion) with Lu 12°° ‘the very last 
mite,’ must not be pressed to mean that the two are identical, as some 
interpreters have done. 


350 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


watches; the first (Lam 21°) till twelye o’clock; the 
middle till three in the morning, Judg 7%; and the 
morning watch till six, Ex 14*4. In the time of our Lord, 
however, the night was divided, as among the Romans, into 
four watches, of three hours each, Mk 13*; the third of 
which was called cock-crowing, Mt 26%. The day, properly 
so called (from six in the morning till six at night), was 
divided into twelve hours, of which the third, the sixth, 
and the ninth were devoted to the public services of worship. 
This division is still retained among the Jews. In very 
early times, and till the Babylonian Captivity, the day was 
divided into the following parts :— 


The break of day. Mid-day at twelve o’clock. 

The morning. The cool of the day, from 

The heat of the day, from nine three o'clock till six. 
o’clock till twelve. The evening. 


From the sixth hour (or twelve o’clock) till the close 
of the day was often called evening. This part of the day 
was divided into two portions, called evenings, Ex 12° 
Ley 23° (see margin). 

These distinctions explain several passages. 


About the eleventh hour, the husbandman said to the labourers, 
Why stand ye here all the day idle?’ Mt 20°. With us, the eleventh 
nour is not yet noon: with the Jews, it was about an hour from 
sunset. Peter’s reasoning is rendered forcible by these facts, Ac 2”. 
‘It is but the third hour of the day’ (nine o’clock), the time of the 
morning sacrifice, before which time the Jews did not eat or drink. 
On the day of the Crucifixion there was darkness over all the land 
from the sixth to the ninth hour, i. e. from twelve o'clock to three. 
The Passover was always kept at the full moon: this darkness, there- 
fore, could not have taken place in the ordinary course of nature from 
an eclipse of the sun. It was at the ninth hour that Jesus cried 
with a loud voice, and shortly afterwards (or ‘ between the evenings,’ 
the time of offering the customary sacrifice) He expired. John says 
that Pilate brought Jesus forth to the people at the sixth hour (Jn 19"), 
probably reckoning from midnight, the commencement of the Roman 
civil day. After the overthrow of the Jewish state, the adoption of 
the civil day of Europe and Egypt for reckoning was the more natural. 
If this interpretation be admitted, it will appear that the hour when 


MODES OF RECKONING 351 


Andrew and John went home with Jesus (Jn 15°) corresponded to our 
Io a.m., and that ‘ the sixth hour,’ when the woman of Samaria went 
to draw water (4°), was six in the evening. See also 4°%. Westcott 
(Speaker’s Commentary, on Jn 19, p. 282) strongly maintains this view in 
a note ‘on St. John’s reckoning of hours.’ 

It was at the fourth watch of the night, or about dawn, that Jesus 
went to the disciples on the sea. He had spent the whole night, 
therefore, in prayer, Mk 6*°. 

The highest praise was bestowed upon the servant whom his lord 
found watching in the second or third watch, i.e. from nine till three, 
Lu 12°, 

It is to be observed that the Jews and other Orientals generally 
speak of any part of a day, or of a period of time, as if it were the 
whole. In like manner, fractions of a day are in England treated as 
legally whole days. 

Thus Jesus said, ‘After three days I will rise again,’ Mt 27°°, though 
He was in the grave only a day and a half, from sunset on Friday to 
the earliest morning on Sunday. He intimated also, quoting from 
Jonah, that He would be in the grave three days and three nights, 
i.e. part of three separate civil days; day and night meaning a day of 
- twenty-four hours, Mt r2*° 1 Sa 301", In the same way, a week is 
called eight days in Jn 207°, as it often is in German; so in French, 
‘quinze jours’ for a fortnight. 


216. The Jewish Year.—The Jews. had two years, the 
sacred and the civil. The sacred began in March or April 
(according to the moon), the month of deliverance of the 
children of Israel from Egypt*; and the civil in September 
or October, the commencement of seed-time. The prophets 
use the former; those engaged in civil and agricultural 
concerns, the latter. The year was divided into twelve 
lunar months, with about every third year a thirteenth, 
as shown below. Till the return from captivity, these 
months had no separate name, except the first, which was 
called Abib (the month of ‘the green ears of corn’), or 
Nisan, the month of ‘the flight,’ Est 37. (See Ex 12?° Heb., 
as in the following table.) 

» The Rabbins say that the year began in March, as did the Roman 
year, and in September ; but the probability is that in earlier times it 


began with the new moon of April and October respectively. See 
Jahn, Archeologia Biblica, § 103. 


352 CALENDAR OF THE . 

















Combining the mode of reckoning common among the Jev 
for the various annual feasts, we obtair 


The first month of the sacred year was the one whose full moon followed nex 
sometimes to April, and sometimes to parts of both, 


Month of 





Answering 
Name. to the Festivals and Appointed Lessons, 
Months of 
“Abib, or Nisan (30] Mar. | 3. Ley 6 Jer 





days), Ex 122 134 Apr. 14. —— Mab alain, The Pass- 
Ezr 79 Ne 21 Est 37. 

5-2. Da; unleavened bread. 

i “rata = the barley 










11. td pte 
I e second Passo um 
= gio) for much an evuld not 
celebrate the 


6. i or Feast of Weeks. 
Firstfruits of wheat harvest 
er pe and ——. 
e ground, 
De 2620 FY 


ro. Num, x Ho x. 





Ivar or Zif (29 days), Apr. 
x Ki 61. May. 














Sivan, or Siuvan (30 May. 
days), Est 89. June. 





June. 
July. 


2 Num 13! Jos 2. 
26. Num 22? Mic 57. 


3. Num 
20. Dtx 


Tammuz (29 days). 













Ab (30 days), Ezr 7%. Jer. 1. 





Dt 712 Is 4 14 
pa Dt 1618 Is 2113, 
x. Feast of Trumpets, Lev 2324 
Num ag}, 
10. Day of Atonement, Lev 2327-28 
15-21. of or of 
Tn =< Lev 
23) oy ad wine 
ar. Gen x 18 42 (Great Day of the 
mn x 
Feast). 


8. Gen 231 x Sa xl, 


Elul (29 days), Ne 
615, 


Tisri, or Ethanim Sept. 
(30 days), x Ki 82, Oct. 















Marchesvan, or Bul 
(29 days), x Ki 658. 


Chisleu (30 days), 
Zec 71 Ne 11, 












Noy. 10. Gen 371 Am 26. 
Dec. 25. Feast of Dedication. 1 Mac 
452-59 In 1022.23, 


Dec. 25. Ex rol Jer 4618, 





Tebeth (29 days), 
Est 216, 










Shee (30 days), 


17. Ex ar] Jer 348. 
Zee 17, 


Adar (29 days), Ezr x. Ex 3821 x Sa 1713, 
615, Mar. 14, 15. Feast of Paria? Est 921.27, 
Ve-Adar orand Adar. 25. Lev x Is, 4321, 










THE SEASONS OF THE YEAR, ere. 353 


ith the facts of physical geography, and the seasons fixed 
a table of much interest and value. 


after the vernal equinox, and therefore sometimes answered to March and 
Names printed in italics do not occur in Scripture. 







| 





Seasons and Weather. Productions. 






























( The latter rain begins to fall, Dt 111* 
Zec rol, 
The weather during the rains chilly, Ezr 
ro? Jn 1818, 
Harvest ¢ This rain prepares the corn for harvest. | Barleyripein lowlands; wheat 
begins. Great heat, especially in the plains, partly in ear; fig-tree blos- | 


| 





The rivers swell from the rains, Jos 315 | soms; winter-fig still on the 
x Ch 1215 Jer 125. tree, Mt 2119 Mk 1213, 

The /atter rains still frequent. Barley harvest in the hill 

These rains often preceded by whirlwinds, | country, Ru 122, Wheat | 
1 Ki 1845 Mt 824, begins to ripen. 


Excessive drought. From April to Sept. | Wheat ripening on the hills 
no rain or thunder, 1 Sa 1217 Pr. 261. in June; in the valleys early 
The morning cloud — early, but soon | in May. Z 
disappears, Ho 6¢ 133, 
Summer f Copious dews at night, “Job 2919 Ps 1333. | Grass in some places a yard 
begins. | North and east winds increase drought, high, Jn 610, 






Gen 476 Jer 41. 
Heat increases. Early vintage, Lev 265, Rice 
and early figs ripen. 
Hot any intense; country apparently burned | Ripe figs at Jerusalem; olives 
Season, in thelowlands; grapes ripen. 


Rete nearly free from snow. 


Heat still intense, 2 Ki 419.20 Ps 1216 | Grape harvest general, 
Is 49% 10 Rey 716. 


Heat in the day: nights frosty, Gen 3140. | Pomegranates ripen, 
Sheree frequent: the former or early 




















r rain. 
Seed. Biaaeasnes and sowing begin, | 
time 
Sometimes the early rain begins now. The latter grapes gathered. 
Wheat and barley sown. Olives in Galilee, | 
Winter { Trees lose their foliage. | 
begins. Snow begins to fall on the mountains, | 
Jer 3622. 
On the mountains the cold is severe. 
Hail; snow, Jos roll Ps 14716.17, Grass and herbs spring up 
Weather warm at intervals, Eze 3330.31, after therains, Wild flowers 
abundant. 
Corn still sown. The winter-fig found on the 
Cold At the beginning of the cold season the | trees, though they are strip- 
season, weather cold, but gradually becomes ped of their leaves. 
warm. 
Thunder and hail frequent. The almond-tree blossoms. 
Barley sometimes sown. Oranges and lemons ripen. 


U 








eS 
354 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 


As the Jewish year contained 354 days (in 12 months 
of 30 and 29 days alternately) it was too short, compared 
with the true or solar year, by nearly 114 days, the error 
amounting in the lunar cycle of 19 years to about 2133 
days. To correct this, the intercalary month Ve-Adar (‘the 
second Adar’) was added to seven of the years in the cycle. 
Thus March 2-30, 1900, was ‘a second Adar.’ The error 
was thus reduced to small dimensions, but still an additional 
intercalation was required once in 8 cycles or 152 years. 
The appointment of the additional Adar was by proclamation 
of the priests, whenever it was observed that the firstfruits 
of the barley-harvest would not otherwise be ready by the 
16th of Nisan. Thus in the Jewish Calendar there are six 
kinds of years ; both common and leap years being either 
irregular, redundant, or defective. 


217. Seasons as a note of time.—In Scripture, dates 
are often fixed by a reference to the seasons or productions, 
2 Sa 21° Num 13?°; or by a reference to the feasts, Jn 10”. 


The fact recorded in Lu 4” has been thought to fix the time of our 
Lord’s visit to the synagogue at Nazareth. The reading of the Law 
was completed in the fifty-two Sabbaths of each year, and was begun 
in Tisri (or Sept.), a custom founded on Ne 8? and Dt 317°". Gen 1-6 
was read at the Feast of Tabernacles; and on the Sabbath before, 
Dt 29°, with Is 611 63°. This reckoning, which is Lamy’s, fixes the 
visit on the 14th Tisri. The time seems from the context, however, 
to have been nearer Pentecost ; and the phraseology of Luke rather 
intimates that Christ had chosen the passage, than that He found it 
in the general order of reading. Lamy has given all the lessons 
(Apparatus Biblicus, lib. i, ch. 5). The preceding table gives the 
commencement of a few only. 

The zeal of the people mentioned in 2 Ch 307° becomes more obyious. 
when it is remembered that they kept the feast other seven days, in 
the midst of the harvest. 


Important lessons are often suggested by the facts con- 
tained in the preceding table. Our Lord, for example, was 
crucified on the day when the Paschal lamb was offered, 
and rose on the day when the firstfruits of the early 


MISCELLANEOUS CUSTOMS 355 


harvest were presented, ‘the firstfruits of them that slept.’ 
The Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, when the first- 
fruits of the ground were presented at the Temple: and on 
that day 3,000 persons, ‘ out of every nation under heaven,’ 
were added to the Church, Ac 2°41, The Feast of Taber- 
nacles (when thanks were offered for the ingathering of all 
the fruits of the land) is yet to come, Zec 141°, 


The language of our Lord (Mt 2377), comparing the Pharisees to 
whited sepulchres, becomes clearer from the fact that it was spoken 
just before the Passover and after the winter rains, when the Jews 
were busy whitewashing the burial-places near Jerusalem, and pre- 
paring for the feast. 


Miscellameous Customs. 


218. There are many other customs referred to in 
Scripture, of which the following are examples :— 


In ancient Rome children were adopted at first privately; then the 
adoption was ratified by a public act; and the children so adopted 
became the heirs of their foster-parents. Hence, in Ro 8, Christians 
are said to be adopted, and yet to wait for their adoption, even the 
redemption of the body, i.e. for their public recognition at the 
coming of the Lord, verse 23. 

Opulent Jews, in ancient times, had their children taught some 
mechanical art, to prepare them for any reverse of fortune; and so 
St. Paul received a liberal education, and learned tent-making, Ac 18°. 

Persons paying visits to a superior generally brought presents, 
Pr 1816 Job 424%. Kings and princes also made presents as marks of 
distinction, Gen 4577-5 1 Sa 18* Est 8% Not to wear garments thus 
given was a great affront, Mt 2241. 

The common salutation in the East was a kiss, sometimes upon the 
beard, 2 Sa 20°, sometimes upon the cheek: the kiss of respect and 
homage was upon the brow, Gen 277° Ex 4°7 1 Sa ro! Ps 2)? Ac 2087, 
In meeting, the Jews used many ceremonies, and persons charged 
with urgent business, therefore, were forbidden to salute by the way, 
2 Ki 4° Lu tot. The usual greeting was, ‘Peace be with thee,’ 
Judg 197° r Sa 25°: other forms may be seen in Ru 2* 3!° Ps 129%. 

An insult was shown by maltreating the beard, by spitting in the 
face, by putting men to degrading employments, Judg 16"1 Lam 5%, 
by clapping the hands, Job 27", by casting contempt upon a man’s 

Aa2 





356 THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE — 


mother, 1 Sa 20°° 2 Sa 3°° 16'° 19%, by dishonouring the dead, Jer 26** 
g} 16°-7, 

At the time of the Passover the people of Jerusalem prepared private 
rooms, in which any stranger might celebrate the feast; and hence 
Christ sent Peter and John, without any seruple, to seek an upper 
room for this purpose, Mk 14". 

At the Feast of Tabernacles (‘on the last day of the feast’) a priest, 
accompanied by a procession of worshippers, drew wafer in a golden 
pitcher, containing a quarter of a hin, from the spring of Siloam, 
which issued from a rock near the Temple. This water was mingled 
with an equal quantity of wine (see Ex 29*°) as a special drink-offering, 
Lev 23°57, the people singing the words of Isaiah, ‘With joy shall 
they draw water from the wells of salvation,’ and was poured on 
the evening sacrifice amid joyful acclamations: see Jn 7°" *. 

In the earliest times there were no inns like ours, and travellers 
generally waited in the street, or at the gate, till invited to some house, 
Gen 19”? Judg 190%*1, In the time of our Lord there were places of 
accommodation where lodging was provided, but where each guest 
brought his own provisions, fuel, and bed. In the stable of such an 
inn, there being no room in the lodging apartment, the Saviour of the 
world was born. Places of a similar kind, probably without resident 
occupants, were found upon the main roads even in the days of the 
Patriarchs, Gen 4277 43% Ex 4*4. Both are still found in the East ; 
the former called khans, and the latter, caravansaries. 

When a person died, his relations rent their garments from head to 
foot, a smaller rent being made by spectators: hired mourners often 
added to the expressions of grief by their lamentations and music, 
Jer 9115 Mt 9° Ac 0%. Embalming was common, though, except in 
Egypt, the process seems to have consisted of little else than anointing 
the body with odoriferous drugs and wrapping it in linen. The 
funeral followed death within twenty-four hours, the body not being 
placed in a coffin, but closely wrapped from head to foot, and borne 
on an open bier to the place of burial, which was always, except in 
the case of kings and distinguished men, at some distance from the 
city. For the poor, there was a common burial ground; but families 
had often their sepulchres in their own fields or gardens. There was 
no particular ceremonial at the grave, but the day was concluded by 
a funeral feast, 2 Sa 3°5 Ho 94. Mourning was expressed afterwards 
by rent clothes and sackcloth; sometimes by a shrouded face, and 
sometimes by dust sprinkled upon the head, 2 Sa 3% 19 Job 2. The 


* On this custom, which we learn from Jewish tradition, see 
Westcott’s Commentary on Jn 757 and Edersheim’s Temple, its Ministry 
and Services at the Time of Jesus Christ (R. T.S.), p. 225. 


MISCELLANEOUS CUSTOMS 357 


graves were generally excavated in the solid rock, with niches all round, 
each holding a corpse, Job 107!-?2 3318 Ps 886 is 149-19 381° Eze 32), 

In the time of our Lord it was a common practice for the kings of 
Syria to visit Rome, to obtain the confirmation of their title from the 
emperor and senate, or to court their favour. Herod the Great went 
to Augustus for this purpose, and his sons visited Rome. They went, 
as our Lord expresses it, ‘ to receive a kingdom and to return,’ Lu 19”. 
This practice explains the incidental allusions to the custom in some 
of the parables. 

Crucifixion was the punishment of slaves only, or of those upon whom 
it was intended to fix the deepest ignominy. It was not a Jewish 
punishment, nor was it inflicted upon a Roman citizen. Thus Christ 
was delivered to the Gentiles, and numbered with the wicked in His 
death, Mt 20}. 

Many customs were connected in ancient times with sealing; the 
seal, generally a signet-ring bearing the name of the owner, preserved 
the object, Job 147, and secured privacy, Is 294. It gave authority 
and completeness to documents, Ne 9°° Est 8° Dn 6°57; or it marked 
the object as the peculiar property of him whose seal was placed upon 
it, Ro 4" 2 Tim a! Rev 775, 


CHAPTER X 


ON THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES 
IN RELATION TO DOCTRINE AND 
TO LIFE 


219. The preceding chapters will have prepared the way 
for a brief statement of the methods in which Seripture 
may be made ‘profitable’ to ourselves ‘for teaching, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteous- 
ness.’ A deep conviction that the revelation is from God 
will enlist both heart and mind in the endeavour; while 
the task can be successfully carried out only as we com- 
prehend and apply the laws of Interpretation ®. 

Two great purposes are accomplished by Bible study 
thus conducted :— 

First, a systematic knowledge of Christian truth: Doc- 
trinal Theology. 

Secondly, the solution of practical questions regarding 
life and duty: Christian Morality. 


I. System in Doctrine 


220. The value of system is shown not only in the Bible, 
but in nature and providence. Facts and objects are scat- 
tered in endless variety, and it is the business of Science 
to detect their order and harmony. 

In both cases, the same principle of investigation is em- 
ployed—the great principle of the inductive philosophy. 


* See especially Chs. VI, VIII. 


SYSTEM IN DOCTRINE 359 


The revelations of Scripture form the basis of theology, as 
the facts of nature form the basis of natural science, or 
as the facts of consciousness form the basis of mental philo- 
sophy. In the Bible, however, we have this advantage, 
that while in nature facts are the only data from which we 
gather general laws, in Scripture we find the general laws 
of truth and duty expressly stated for our guidance . 

The systematic study of Scripture has been singularly 
misrepresented. Some hold that it is useless ; a remnant, 
in fact, of scholastic habits, which it is the interest of 
the Church to destroy. But to repudiate system compels 
us either to confine ourselves in statements of doctrine to 
Scripture language; or it exposes us to the risk of mis- 
representing one doctrine in enforcing another; or, more 
commonly still, it tempts us to overlook the due proportion 
or connexion of doctrines, and so leads us into error, the 
more seductive that it is founded partially on truth. 
‘General principles drawn from particulars,’ says Locke, ‘are 
the jewels of knowledge, comprehending great store in little 
room: but these are therefore to be used with the greater 
care and caution, lest, if we take counterfeit for true, our 
loss be the greater when our stock comes to a severe 
serutiny.” Others, again, ge to the opposite extreme, and 
maintain that the adoption of a system is a necessary 
preliminary to the study of Scripture, a theory not borne 
out by facts. Many a reader who begins with Scripture 
finds his way to truth, and whatever system he attain is 
the result and not the beginning of his prayerful studies. 
Yet in his search he will already find the elements of a 
creed in such passages as Tit 244~14 Eph 2* 19 1 Tim 3°. 

221. Method of investigation.—To gather doctrinal 
truth from Scripture, we bring together all the passages 
that refer to the same subject, whether they be doctrines, 


? See tract by Dr. Angus, Theology an Inductive and a Progressive Science 
(Present Day Tract, R. T.S., No. 68, second series). 


360 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ~ 


precepts, promises, or examples ; impartially compare them ; 
restrict the expressions of one passage by those of another ; 
and explain the whole consistently. When the proposition 
which we derive from such complete collection of the 
passages embodies all they contain, and no more, it may 
then be regarded as a general Scripture truth. 

The following rules are equally obvious and important :— 

1. We must gather our views of Christian doctrine 
primarily from the New Testament, interpreting its 
statements consistently with one another, and with the 
facts and clear revelations of the Old. 

2. In carrying out this rule it is necessary to explain 
ambiguous and figurative passages by those that are clear 
and literal; and passages in which a subject is briefly 
described by those in which it is largely discussed ; 
and general assertions by others (if such there be) which 
treat of the same truth with some restriction or ex- 
ceptions. 

3. Not only must the passages which speak of the same 
doctrine be explained consistently with one another, but each 
doctrine must be held consistently with other doctrines. 
See the remarks, in the chapter on Interpretation, on the 
general scope of Scripture (§§ 128, 129). 

The Scriptures teach, for example, on a comparison of 
passages, that repentance, faith, and obedience are the gifts 
of God*. Do we therefore gather that men are guiltless 
if they do not repent, and believe, and obey the gospel ? 
or do we deem it needless to exhort men to repentance, 
obedience, and faith? If so, our views are unsound, for 
the guilt of impenitence is charged entirely upon man». 
His unbelief is declared to be his great sin and the ground 
of his condemnation ©; and not to obey God is everywhere 
condemned. Men are exhorted, too, to repent 4, and believe, 

®* Jn 15° Ac 5°! Eph 2° Phil 17° a! 1 Pet 1°. 
b Mt 1120-21 Rey 220-21, ¢ Jn git 16°, d Mk 115, 





SYSTEM IN DOCTRINE 361 


and obey. So Samuel taught the Israelites, and John the 
Baptist taught the Jews. Thus also spoke our Lord and 
His Apostles continually 2. 

Though truths may be revealed in Scripture which it 
is difficult for us to harmonize, yet one truth so held as 
to contradict another is not held as the Bible reveals it. 

4. We should employ and interpret the doctrines of Serip- 
_ ture with special regard to the practical purposes for which 
the Scripture revealsthem. Thus, the doctrine of the Trinity 
is a revelation of God in relation to man; and, though 
sometimes introduced as an article of faith simply (as in 
the rite of baptism), it is generally in connexion with 
spiritual blessings, and especially with the scheme of 
redemption, 2 Cor 13). 

The use made in Scripture, again, of the doctrine of 
election is highly instructive. However the doctrine itself 
be regarded, all agree in admitting that it can involve no 
capricious fondness, without reason or wisdom; nor can it 
be regarded as affection founded upon our merit, or as 
seeking for its ultimate end our happiness. It is rather 
an exhibition of the character of God, which represents 
_ Him as acting in pursuance of His own purpose, and while 
securing that purpose, as displaying His glory and promoting 
the general good. . The doctrine is introduced in Scripture, 
moreover, to declare the source of salvation to be the un- 
deserved favour of God, and to cut off all hope of acceptance 
by works, as in Ro 115-° ; to account for the unbelief of the 
Jews without excusing it,as in Ro 9; or to show the certain 
success of Christ’s kingdom in defiance of all hostility, as 
in Mt 21*7 Jn 6°”. Considered without reference to these 
facts, it might be made the ground of a charge of caprice, 
or it might become (as among the Jews) the nourishment 
of self-conceit ; or it might be used to destroy the doctrine 
of human responsibility or the duty of Christian devotedness. 

® Mt 3° Lu 13° Ac 3!° 872, &e. 


362 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES 


Yet the doctrine systematically considered—viewed, that 
is, in connexion with the truths among which it stands, and 
applied to the purposes for which the inspired teachers used 
it—has a humbling, comforting, and sanctifying tendency. 

5. It must be remembered, again, that deductions drawn 
by our own reason from the statements of Scripture are 
not to be deemed inspired unless those deductions are 
themselves revealed. 

It is certain, for example, that distinct acts of personal 
agency, which are in some passages ascribed simply to God, 
are ascribed elsewhere to the Father, or to the Son, or to 
the Holy Ghost, and that worship and adoration are claimed 


for each. We infer, therefore, that there are three Persons — 


in the Godhead, and but one God ; or that there is a Trinity 
in Unity. We thus express Scripture truth in a convenient 
form. But if we attempt further to explain this truth, or 
to draw from the phraseology employed other remote con- 
clusions, we may either darken counsel by words without 
knowledge, or gather lessons which God has not taught. 

‘No man,’ says Jeremy Taylor, ‘is to be pressed with 
consequences drawn from thence, unless the transcript be 
drawn by the same hand that wrote the original. For we 
are sure it came, in the simplicity of it, from an infallible 
Spirit ; but he that bids me believe his deductions bids me 
believe that he is an unerring logician ; for which God has 
given me no command, and himself can give me no 
security *.’ 

Concerning all doctrines, indeed, which are peculiar to 
Scripture, the rule of the martyr Ridley is as Christian as it 
is philosophical. ‘In these matters,’ says he, ‘I am so 
fearful that I dare not speak further, yea, almost none other- 
wise than the text doth as it were lead me by the hand.’ 

222. Relative Importance of Truths. But besides 
ascertaining the truths of the gospel, it is not less important 


* Dissuasives against Popery. 





SYSTEM IN DOCTRINE 363 


in framing a system of truth to ascertain their relative 
importance ; and if possible, the order in which Scripture 
reveals them. With this view consider especially three 
rules :— 

i. Mark the subjects which are oftenest recommended to 
attention by our Lord, and by His Apostles. 

If it be asked, for example, what is the most memorable 
circumstance in the institution of the Last Supper, the reply 
is, its commemorative character: for this peculiarity is 
thrice mentioned in the words of the institution, 1 Cor 
pr24-25.26, 

ii. Observe carefully what is common to the two dispensa- 
tions, the Christian and the Jewish. 

In both, the unity and spirituality of God, His power and 
truthfulness are frequently revealed. So among our first 
duties are gratitude and love. The numerous injunctions 
- in the Law respecting sacrifices, and the prominence given 
to the truth that Christ was ‘once offered to bear the sins 
of many,’ illustrate the paramount importance both of the 
doctrine, and of appropriate feelings in reference to it, 
Heb 9”. 

iii. Observe the value ascribed in Scripture itself to any 
truth or precept which it contains. Sometimes a quality is 
set forth as essential, ‘ Without faith it is impossible to 
please God.’ Sometimes one quality is preferred to another, 
as love to both faith and hope, 1 Cor 13. Doctrines also 
have their relative as well as their absolute importance. 
Thus, the fact of the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, 
as an evidence of the completion and acceptance of His 
work, and as a pledge of the resurrection of His people, 
is mentioned in the Epistles alone more than fifty times. 
Any view of the gospel message, therefore, which gives to 
these doctrines a second place is clearly not the gospel of 
Scripture. 


364 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES 


223. How to apply these Rules.—One or two general 
principles may be laid down to aid in the application of 
these rules. 

(a) Nothing must be made a matter of necessary faith 
which is not a matter of revelation. 

(b) In studying the Bible, there must be a suspense of 
judgement till the Word itself decides. Allow no bias but 
what is received from the Scriptures themselves ; otherwise 
our belief will be only inclination and fancy. 

(c) The same relative prominence should be given to each 
doctrine as is given to it in Scripture. 

(d) Where the doctrine of Scripture is important and 
necessary, the Scripture will be found full and clear. Where 
Scripture is not full and clear, the doctrine is either in 
itself not important, or the certain knowledge of it is un- 
attainable in our present state. 

(e) The Bible does not contradict itself. Of apparent 
contradictions, some are merely verbal, and the right inter- 
pretation of the words removes the difficulty. Others, 
pertaining to the doctrines themselves, may be solved by 
one or other of the three following rules. 

1. When the same action is affirmed of different persons, 
there is a sense in which it is true of both. 

It is said, for example, ten times that Pharaoh hardened 
his heart, and ten times that God hardened Pharaoh’s 
heart; and both statements are in a sense true. 

Again, the same act is ascribed in Scripture to different 
persons, as in Ex 18!7~26 Dt r°-!’, in relation to the appoint- 
ment of judges; Num 13!~*° Dt 1**, on sending the spies ; 
2 Sa 24' 1 Ch 211, in the numbering of the people by David. 
« 2. When apparently contradictory qualities are ascribed 
in Scripture to the same person or object, there is a sense in 
which both assertions are true. 

Thus, God visits the sins of the fathers upon the children, 
and yet the children do not bear the sins of the fathers, 


THE GUIDANCE OF LIFE 365 


Ex 20° Eze 187°. Hither the effects of the father’s sin fall 
temporarily upon his children, though each man’s final 
destiny is the result of his own conduct, or the former 
passage may be limited to those who hate him: in their 
case there is an accumulation of punishment. 

3. When one thing is said in Scripture to secure salvation, 
and the want of another thing is said to exclude from it, the 
existence of the one necessarily implies the existence of the 
other. 

It is said, for example, that faith saves us, and yet no one 
can be saved who hates his brother. Both statements are 
true; and, in fact, we find that faith and love are never 
disjoined. 

This is the canon that reconciles the prerogatives of faith 
with the promises made to character, as in the Sermon on 
the Mount. It is not meant that such characters, if they 
’ have faith, are blessed, for the promise is absolute; but 
it is implied that faith forms such characters, and brings the 
believer within the range of the promise. 


II. The Guidance of Life 


224. Doctrine and Practice.—Here also the principles 
and rules of conduct are part of the great system of revela- 
tion. Scripture doctrine lies at the foundation of all true 
morality @. 

The gospel begins its message with the ‘ story of peace,’ 
unfolding the pardoning mercy of God through the death 
of His Son. It then exhibits its truths as motives to 
holiness. When these truths have taken possession of the 
heart, they teach us to perceive in Scripture the require- 
ments of a high and spiritual obedience: and under their 
influence we learn to serve ‘in newness of spirit, and not 


* See, on the subject of this paragraph, Dean Wace’s Lectures on 
Christianity and Morality. 


366 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES 


in the oldness of the letter.” This is the order, therefore, of 
human experience ; knowledge in the heart, or truth, pre- 
cedes knowledge in practice, or goodness: or, in simple 
Scripture language, man is sanctified by faith, through the 
operation of the Holy Spirit. 


1. When the reader of the Bible has examined and classified its 
precepts, he will find that it is rather a book of principles than of 
directions. And of principles in a double sense: its precepts refer 
rather to motives than to actions, which motives are called the prin- 
ciples or beginnings of action: and moreover, its precepts are compre- 
hensive maxims, and are therefore rather principles of morality than 
specific rules) When it speaks of holiness, it means faith, well- 
regulated affection, inward purity, and moral rectitude of disposition ; 
and these it represents, not as the ground of our salvation, but as its 
evidence and result. The law of the Ten Commandments, which 
seems at first to refer to practice only, is summed up by our Lord in 
the form of love to God and to man; humility and evangelic faith 
towards God, and all holy conduct towards our fellows, being the 
appropriate utterance of these inward feelings. This apparent 
peculiarity of the gospel scheme was the more striking in the time of 
our Lord from the fact that Jewish tradition had given undue im- 
portance to ritual zeal and punctiliousness: and it accounts for much 
of the opposition which the first teachers of the truth encountered. 
That it is a peculiarity also of the Law is plain, both from the nature 
of its precepts and from the teaching of our Lord; for although in im- 
pressing upon His hearers the importance of inward dispositions He 
may seem to speak of the Law as faulty, He is in reality setting free 
its moral significance from the bondage of a perverted literalism. 
See also Mk 12°23}, 

2. Even when the precepts of the gospel are given in a specific 
form, they are often intended as descriptive rather of character than 
of specific acts. The command of our Lord, ‘If any man will sue 
thee at the law to take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also,’ is 
an instance, Mt 5*°. A literal compliance with the precept would be 
seldom practicable. To wait for the occasion when it can be applied 
would be of little service ; but to cherish the disposition at which it 
aims is to walk daily on the path that leads to holiness. 

3. It is another peculiarity of the precepts of the gospel that they 
are generally expressed in comprehensive terms, and that the appli- 
cation of them, and the distinctions that attend it, are left to the 
reason of the reader. It is true that the laws are so plain as to leave 
a conscientious and teachable mind in little danger of mistake. Still, 





THE GUIDANCE OF LIFE 367 


it is part of our discipline that we are left to apply them. Such 
possibilities of error in applying them remain, as prove God to be 
testing ‘what is in our hearts, and whether we will keep His com- 
mandments or not.’ 


225. Moral and Positive Precepts.—Keeping in mind 
that the precepts of Scripture refer chiefly to the dispositions 
of the soul, that they are expressed for the most part in 
general terms, and that the application of them is left to 
the reader, we need still to notice an important distinction 
_ between these precepts themselves. 

Some are called moral and others positive, and the distine- 
tion is founded on Scripture. Bishop Jeremy Taylor defines 
moral precepts as having their measure in natural reason, 
while in positive precepts the reasons and measure are 
incidental, economical, or political. The reason of the first 
is eternal, the reason of the second temporary. Bishop 
Butler and Dr. Doddridge define the first as precepts 
the reasons for which we see, and the second as precepts 
the reasons for which we do not see. By combining these 
definitions, we may, perhaps, obtain one more comprehensive 
than either. Of the former class of precepts we discern the 
place in the moral system to which they essentially belong: 
for the latter we are content to rest upon the enactment of 
an all-wise and all-loving Creator. Both are, within certain 
limits, obligatory, and the neglect of either has its peculiar 
aggravations. To violate moral laws is to disobey our 
reason and God. To violate positive laws is to sin where 
temptation is commonly feeblest, and where disobedience 
involves a direct denial of Divine authority. 

Some precepts (it is obvious) are mixed in their nature, 
being partly moral and partly positive. Such is the law of 
the Sabbath. That creatures, framed as man is, should 
statedly rest from toil is a physical necessity ; that they 
should present some united worship is a moral duty ; but 
whether that rest and worship be presented on the seventh, 


368 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES 


or eighth, or tenth day must be decided by positive law. 
It is obvious, too, that in the use of the words of this 
distinction we are liable to mistake. Moral duties are 
positive, in the sense of being expressly commanded ; and 
positive duties are moral, in the sense of requiring holy 
motive in fulfilling them: guilt, too, is incurred, if they be 
regarded with indifference or contempt. 


Differences between the two.—Six particulars may be stated in 
which positive laws differ from those which are strictly moral : 

1. Their nature. The moral are intrinsically holy and immutable ; 
the positive are indifferent till the precept is given. Under the Law, 

. for example, to look at the brazen serpent, to sprinkle the door-posts 
with blood, were acts of no obligation till God had commanded them, 
and both were temporary in their duration. 

2. Their evidence. The moral precept is written, though often nearly 
effaced, in the heart; but the positive precept in the Bible only. In 
reference to the latter, therefore, differences among Christians are 
more easy and (may we not say ?) less inexcusable. 

3. Their basis. Moral precepts are founded in the nature of God and 
of man, and in the relation that subsists between them ; positive pre- 
cepts in God’s will alone. That will is doubtless guided by wisdom, 
and the general design of many positive precepts is even obvious. 
Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, and the Sabbath, for example, are all 
adapted to a specific end; but why these ordinances only, and not 
others, is not revealed. 


4. The extent of their obligation. Moral precepts are universally 
binding. There is no state conceivable to which God's moral dominion 
does not extend. Positive precepts, on the other hand, are particular. 
The ceremonial law included the Jews, but not the Gentiles. 
Certain observances, again, were binding on the priests, but not on 
the people. So, under the gospel, those only must partake of the 
Lord’s Supper on whom that ordinance is enjoined. 

5. The method of their observance. Moral precepts, inculeating prin- 
ciples, are obeyed by a thousand different actions. Positive precepts, 
controlling conduct only, are uniform, and are to be observed according 
to the prescription and letter of the Law. 

6. Their connexion. Moral precepts are necessarily connected. Posi- 
tive precepts may be so by authority, but are not so in their nature. 
Faith is followed by hope, and joy, and love. Love to God strengthens 
our sorrow for offending and our fear to offend; and love to man, 
fidelity and beneficence. But circumcision did not imply holiness or 





THE GUIDANCE OF LIFE 369 


ceremonial purity. Institutions may be observed apart, ‘ but virtues 
go ever,’ says Bishop Hall, ‘in troops.’ 


Application of both.—In reference to the application of 
these laws, moral and positive, four things must be specially 
remembered :— 


1. Moral precepts never really contradict one another. If there be 
apparent contradiction, we have misinterpreted the meaning or the 
' limits of the Law. 

2. Positive institutions, being founded exclusively on the law of 
God, admit of no additions in number to those it reveals. Institutions 
claiming Divine authority must not only not be forbidden in Scripture, 
they must be expressly commanded. To increase the number of 
such institutions, says Dr. Whichcote, ‘ lessens the number of things 
lawful, brings the consciences of men into bondage, multiplies sin 
in the world, makes the way narrower than God has made it, and 
divides His Church.’ 

3. When positive precepts interfere with the observance of the 
moral law, they must yield the outward rite to the expression of holy 
feeling, the offering of sacrifice to the dictates of mercy, the keeping 
of a Sabbath to the law of love. 

4. God rejects His own positive institutions when men make them final 
or put them in competition with holiness, or substitute them for it, 
2 Ki 184 Is 11-7 663 Jer 78-16 Mic 678 Am 521, 


226. Examples a Guide to Conduct.—In considering 
and applying the examples of Scripture, there are several 
points to which attention needs to be directed. 

1. Many things are recorded in Scripture with censure. 

There are examples of injustice and idolatry, which are either 
discountenanced by the Law, or were at the time expressly condemned. 
The record of them is not intended to hallow the facts, or to justify us 


in copying them, but to illustrate the wickedness of human nature 
and the justice of God. 


2. Note, however, that the actions of good men, which 
were nevertheless wrong, or which are not, on other grounds, 
intended for our imitation, are sometimes recorded without 
censure. 

To this class belong the equivocation of Abraham before Pharaoh ; 
the falsehood of Rebekah and Jacob ; the dissembled madness of David, 

Bb 


al 
' ‘ 


370 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES 


t Sa 21%; and the massacre at Jabesh-gilead. To this class, also, 
belong such actions as were allowed under the Law, but are forbidden 
under the gospel. Polygamy, for example, was only permitted to the 
Jews, ‘because of the hardness of their hearts’; never enjoined. The 
reasoning of our Lord condemns it, Mk 1o*®; nor must we, from 
the pattern of children, learn the measure of duty in men. 


3. Many acts under the old dispensation were done by 
express command. 


Abraham at least understood God as commanding him to slay his 
son ; Joshua destroyed the Canaanites ; the Levites put to death the 
idolaters in the camp; Jehu rebelled against the house of Ahab, 
2 Ki 9'!-*: but each of these acts was performed under the authority 
of a peculiar and positive precept. The fact that God expressly com- 
manded them takes them out of the list of imitable actions. To 
make similar actions commendable, we must have similar authority. 

It may be observed that, when a peculiar command was given, the 
reason is generally appended, showing the command to be but tem- 
porary. Abraham was commanded to offer up his son, to test his 
faith ; Joshua destroyed the Canaanites because the time of their 
probation was past, and they had proved irretrievably idolatrous ; 
idolaters in Judza were put to death because, there, idolatry was 
treason against the supreme authority of the invisible King. 


4. In judging of Old Testament examples, we must ascer- 
tain the principle on which the actions were performed. This 
is the rule suggested by Heb 11, where some acts are 
recorded as imitable only in the principle of faith from 
which they sprang. 


Without this rule, Scripture may be made to sanction the most con- 
tradictory acts. In Gen 21°, for example, Ishmael mocked Isaac, and 
from Gal 4°° we learn that this mockery was the expression of a per- 
secuting spirit, and of contempt of God’s promises. Elijah, on the 
other hand, mocked the priests of Baal to prove the folly and wicked- 
ness of idolatry. Elijah’s conduct in calling fire from heaven, 2 Ki 111", 
was not the result of angry feeling, but of a desire to convince a wicked 
prince and an idolatrous people; when James and John wished to 
exercise the same power, however, our Lord rebuked them; partly 
because His kingdom forbade such ageney, and partly because the 
temper in which they spoke was passionate and revengeful. 

General Rule.—All these considerations may be expressed in the 
form of rules: arid it follows that we are not to copy the practices 
which Seripture records and condemns; nor practices which it records 


: 
{ 


THE GUIDANCE OF LIFE 371 


without censure, unless those practices were holy as well as lawful; 
nor what was done under specific and temporary command ; nor what 
was done in consequence of inferior knowledge: nor must we copy or 
judge the good acts of even a good man, without considering their 
motives and end. 

Or the whole may be summed up in one principle. In relation to 
Old Testament examples, the rule of judgement is, that we estimate 
each act as the individual who performed it was bound to estimate it 
_ by the law under which he lived, and the rule of imitation is, that we 
are to copy it only if it be consistent with the precepts of the New 
Testament. The positive rule of imitation will be found below. 


Value of Examples.— Ot what use, then, are the examples 
of Scripture, and how are we to employ them? They are 
of great use :-— 


1. In interpreting the rules of Scripture where the 
sense is questioned. If the example be set by inspired 
men, and that example be in obedience to a rule, we have 
then an inspired interpretation of its meaning. 


The conduct of Paul in opposing Peter on the question of circum- 
cision, and the practice of the Apostles generally, decide the significa- 
tion of many passages of Scripture. In such cases we copy the 
example, not because good men have set it, but because, under the 
circumstances, it proves to us what is the mind of Christ. 

We may thus often find an explanation of the meaning of Seripture 
in the examples which inspired men have left us. ‘Swear not at all,’ 
for instance, is one of the commands of our Lord, Mt 5°4~*". In the 
same chapter He tells us that He came not to destroy the Law (verses 
17, 18), and as the Law permitted oaths, it may be presumed that all 
oaths for all purposes are not forbidden in this prohibition. On 
referring to 2 Cor r1°!-85 Ro 19 it becomes plain that the precept 
refers to our ordinary communications, which should be yea, yea, 
nay, nay. The vice which is thus condemned was very common 
among the Jews. ‘Resist not him that is evil’ (R. V.) will be found 
by the same reasoning to mean ‘Cherish not a spirit of retaliation 
and revenge.’ Our Lord did not complain of the Law in the hands 
of the magistrate, nor did He forbid His disciples appealing to it 
where public justice was concerned. He Himself remonstrated against 
unjust smiting, Jn 1875; and Paul so far resisted evil as to protest 
against cruel indignities offered him, and on another occasion to 
appeal to Czsar, Ac 254. The meaning of the precept therefore is, 
‘rather suffer injury than avenge yourselves.’ 


Bb2 


372 





2. In teaching us to apply the rules of Seripture to par- 3 


ticular cases. The New Testament is, in a great degree, — 
a book of principles, not of specific directions, and it requires 
great wisdom to apply them. 


The value of examples for this purpose may be well illustrated by 
comparing the moral principles laid down in the Book of Proverbs, 
with the application of them in the different characters mentioned 
in Seripture. It is said, for example, ‘There is that maketh himself 
rich, yet hath nothing; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath 
great riches.’ Of the first principle we have illustrations, in Ahab, 
1 Ki 211622; in Haman, Est 5-15; in the self-righteous Pharisee, 
Lu 18-4 ; in the self-conceited Corinthians, 1 Cor 4*; in the false 
teachers referred to by Peter, 2 Pet 2'°4®: and of the second, in 
Matthew, Lu 577-8; Zaccheus, Lu 19**; Paul, 2 Cor 6 Phil 3°; the 
Ephesian converts, Ac 19"; and in the church of Smyrna, Rey 2°, 
compared with the church at Laodicea, Rey 3”. 


3. The great use of Scripture examples, however, is not 
for purposes of interpretation, but for the increase of 
holiness. They illustrate Divine truth and human duty— 
they show the possibility of obedience—they rebuke our 
imperfections, and, by exhibiting the sins of good men, 
excite our watchfulness and charity. 


Does the Christian ask, for instance, whether it is possible for him 
to serve God in the business of the world, as well as in retirement, 
or in the publie service of religion? let him remember that Enoch, 
who walked with God, had sons and daughters, that Abraham had 
great possessions, that Joseph was governor of Egypt, that Moses was 
king in Jeshurun (Dt 335), that Isaiah was a statesman and counsellor 
in the days of King Ahaz, that Jeremiah dwelt in royal courts, that 
Daniel was third ruler in the kingdom of Babylon, that there were 


saints in Cesar’s household, and that our blessed Lord Himself was — 


not less holy as the carpenter than when engaged in His public 
ministry, or when offering the great sacrifice of the Cross. 

Do we wish to test our repentance, and ascertain whether it is 
worldly or spiritual ? We may examine its fruits, or we may compare 
it with Scripture examples. We have true repentance in David, 
2 Sa 121° and Ps 51; in Manasseh, 2 Ch 33)"; in Job, 42°; in Nine- 
veh, Jon 35-8; in Peter. Mt 26%; and in the publican, Lu 18°. We 
have worldly repentance in Pharaoh, Ex 1ro'!7; in Saul, t Sa 15%; 
in Ahab, 1 Ki 2177; and in Judas, Mt a7°-%. 


THE GUIDANCE OF LIFE 373 


Do we watch with most care against our easily besetting sins, and 
feel secure against others to which we are less prone? We may, with 
advantage, remember that Abraham, the father of the faithful, dis- 
trusted the providence of God ; that Moses, the meekest of men, spoke 
unadvisedly with his lips; that Job murmured, Job 3, 6, &.; and 
that the boldest of the disciples of our Lord swore, through fear, that 
he knew Him not. 

The value of such examples is not to be lightly 
esteemed. ‘All that philosophy, wise men, and general 
reason can teach,’ says Luther, ‘that is profitable for good 
life, history presents by examples and cases. And when 
we look at it deeply, we find that thence have flowed almost 
all rights, art, good counsel, warning, threatening, terror, 
consolation, strengthening, instruction, and prudence, as 
out of a living spring.’ Examples thus become morality 
taught in facts, ‘Christ and His gospel preached from the 
annals of His own kingdom ®,’ and from the experience of 


~ His Church. 


Examples apply in similar cases.—It may be remarked, 
generally, that if the matter to which the example refers is 
of a moral nature, we are to copy the example of inspired 
men, so far as the reason of the practice is the same in their 
case and in ours. If the cases are not similar, we then obey 
the command by cherishing the spirit which their example 
embodied, without copying the example itself. 


It is a principle, for instance, that Christians are ‘ by love to serve 
one another,’ and if the churches of one district have abundance, and 
those of another district are suffering from poverty, the churches in 
the former case are to obey the command by collecting for their 
poorer brethren, as the early churches did, Ac 1175-89 t Cor 16'. They 
apply the rule in the same way. But if it be said to follow from this 
principle, that we should copy the example of early Christians in 
washing one another’s feet, we then apply the exceptive principle just 
named. That custom was in Eastern countries a common and necessary 
refreshment; but to observe it here would defeat the design of the 
observance. A kiss was the common form of Eastern salutation, and 
was designed to express affectionate regard; the principle of that 


® Neander, 


374 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES 


practice, the exercise and expression of affectionate feeling, is still 
binding, but we cease to copy the example, or to express the principle 
in that form, The primitive Church, it is evident from the New 
Testament, had its love-feasts ; we have no record of their being a 
Divine appointment, but they were probably the spontaneous expres- 
sion of mutual affection. Hence, when they were abused, the Apostles 
condemned them. ‘These are spots,’ said Jude, ‘in your love-feasts.’ 
In the case of the Lord’s Supper, the abuse was condemned also, but 
the ordinance was re-inculcated. The observance of such feasts, 
therefore, is allowable, if they tend to deepen the feelings they are 
designed to express, but the example is plainly not of binding 
authority. 


Inapplicable Precedents.—If the matter to which the 
example refers is a positive institution, the precedent is of no 
force in regard to its merely accidental cireumstances, 


In relation, for example, to the Lord’s Supper ;—it was celebrated 
in an upper room, with unleavened bread, the guests reclining at the 
table, on the fifth day of the week, and in the evening of the day, 
Three of these facts are expressly mentioned, and the others are 
undoubted ; yet none is deemed essential to the due observance of the 
ordinance. Most of the meetings of believers mentioned in the New 
Testament were held on the first day of the week, Ae 207 r Cor 117°, 
Most of the preaching to the Jews and others who worshipped with 
them was on the seventh day, Ac 13** 18* 164% To frame our 
practice in this case after apostolic example, without considering the 
reason of their conduct, is plainly to confound the essential and 
accidental characteristics of their obedience. They exhorted Christians 
principally on the first day of the week, because this day had 
already become recognized as the weekly festival of the Resurrection. 
They preached on the Saturday because the people whom they sought 
to reach were then most accessible. It follows that there is a reason 


for the service of the first day, which does not now exist in the case 


of the seventh. 


True Basis of Obedience.—It is important to observe 
that, in all these cases (both those that refer to moral precepts 
and those that refer to positive institutions), the duty of 
obedience is founded on the- command, the application and 
extent of the command being fixed by the phraseology 
employed, and by the example of inspired men, subject only 
to the rules just given. 






: 


THE GUIDANCE OF LIFE 375 


Promises and their Application.—Faith in the promises 
of the gospel is, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, a 
great medium of man’s renewal and holiness. When born 
again, that is, restored to the condition and character of 
children, it is, under the operation of the same Holy Spirit, 
by the incorruptible seed of the Divine Word, received into 
the heart. When justified, it is by faith ; and by faith they 
are made holy : faith is our ‘ shield,’ our ‘ work,’ our ‘ victory,’ 
our ‘ life.’ 

227. Characteristics of Divine Promises.—In study- 
ing and applying the promises of the Bible, it is important 
that we remember the following particulars :— 

1. The general promises of the Bible are the expression 
of God’s immutable counsel. 


Men have often attached this idea of counsel to the secret purposes 
of God only, as if those purposes contradicted His Word, or were 
intended to nullify and frustrate its statements. But in Scripture the 
promises are always spoken of as the revelation of His purpose, and 
the violation of His promise as the denial, not of His Word only, but 
of Himself. He had promised ‘before the world began,’ Tit 17; and 
the promises are quoted in proof of His immutability, Heb 617.18, 


2. Some of the promises are universal, and others peculiar 
and temporary; and it is important to distinguish between 
them. 


There are promises made to Noah, to Moses, to David, to Peter, 
which cannot apply to us. The promise to the Israelites of outward 
prosperity was temporary, being suited to their dispensation, and 
adapted (in a state where eternal things were less clearly revealed) 
to secure obedience. So the gift of miracles, and of infallibility for 
writing or confirming the Scriptures, was promised to the first age 
of the Church only, but is now withdrawn. The gospel is the universal 
promise, and the only one. It is, therefore, the ground and measure 
of our faith. Many promises, however, made to individual believers 
are branches of the universal promise, and are, as such, to be applied 
to believers still. The promise of God to Joshua, for example, ‘I will 
never leave thee,’ is applied to the Hebrew Christians ; and Nehemiah 
prayed for the fulfilment of the promise given to Moses, Jos 1° Heb 13° 
Ne 15-4, 


. ® SS 7 a i 


376 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES 


There is nothing in the interpretation of Seripture which 
needs more discrimination than the degree in which promises 
made to particular persons or communities, or under special 
circumstances, may be appropriated by others. Often these 
promises are evidently intended to apply generally, but 
sometimes they are applied without warrant. Satan at- 
tempted this perversion of Scripture promise in the case 
of our Lord, Ps g1!* Mt 4°. 

The following remarks are therefore of special im- 
portance :— 


Promises that refer to the present life, especially those that are con- 
tained in the Old Testament, applied to a consistent Christian, embody 
a general truth, namely, that religion, by making men honest, and 
sober, and industrious, has a constant tendency to secure temporal 
blessing. The hand of the diligent maketh rich, and diligence is 
enforced by the gospel. But the constancy of this law is corrected by 
three considerations. (1) Persecution and suffering are expressly 
foretold, of the Church, and for Christ’s sake ; and such suffering is 
itself the theme of a promise. (2) The temporal promises of the Old 
Testament have a limit in the very character of the later dispensation. 
It is one of faith rather than of sight. (3) And besides, temporal 
mercies are now employed to promote the Christian’s spiritual welfare, 
and are given or withheld, as may prove most for his highest good. 
Under the Law, ‘the rod of the wicked’ less frequently rested upon the 
‘lot of the righteous,’ because the lessons of Providence were among 
the grand teachers both of the Church and of the world. Now, 
however, the Bible is complete ; and God is free (so to speak) to adapt 
His discipline to the wants of each of His children. In asking, therefore, 
for the fulfilment of temporal promises, even when universal, we must 
remember that prosperity has ceased to be the uniform expression 
of Divine favour, and that Providence is now administered in sub- 
servience to the spiritual discipline of the Church. 


3. Some of the promises are absolute, and others are 
conditional. 

The promises of the coming of the Messiah and of the call of the 
Gentiles were absolute. The promise of pardon and of blessings 
essential to salvation is conditional on our faith. The Christian's 


progress, again, in holiness, and his freedom from chastisement, are 
dependent upon his diligence, and obedience, and prayer. 


THE GUIDANCE OF LIFE 377 


It may be said generally that every promise of spiritual 
blessing to individual Christians is given to character, and 
on conditions. ‘ 


See x Sa 289 1 Ch 28°19 Eze 3318 Jas 157 Ro 4312 Heb 41. These 
promises are made to character ; sincerity and faith are always required. 
If we seek Abraham’s blessing, we must walk in Abraham’s steps. 
If we wish for special tokens of Divine regard, we must cherish the 
poor and contrite spirit with which God is pleased to dwell. And 
they are made on conditions. Further light and richer gifts are ever 
bestowed in proportion to our industry, and fervour, and fidelity, and 
prayer. 

So far, therefore, as any promise of Scripture is common, and we 
fulfil its conditions, we may apply it to ourselves as boldly as if our 
name were there. If even it be a particular promise given to one 
saint, but a branch of the universal promise of the gospel, and we do 
as he did to whom it was originally given, it becomes our own. 


228. Conditions of the Promises.—This connexion of 
_ the promises of Scripture and the conditions attached to 
them is often overlooked. Men apply the promises as if 
they were made to sorrow or distress. In fact, no promise 
is given to mere distress, but only to distress erying for 
relief, and seeking it in the way of Divine appointment : 
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, 
and thou shalt glorify Me,’ is the uniform language of 
Scripture, Ps 50. In this respect, its promises differ from 
its invitations. The latter are commands addressed to all, 
even to the impenitent and the unbelieving (Mk 11°); the 
former to the penitent and believing only, or to the im- 
penitent, on the supposition that they turn and believe. 

4. God often promises a blessing without fixing the time 
when it is to be bestowed. 

God will deliver the righteous out of his troubles, but the time is 
not told us, Ps 37’. See 401, ‘I waited waitingly’ (Driver). Christ 
is to come again, and to take us to Himself, Jn 141-5; but ‘ of that 
day and hour knoweth no man.’ To trust in the promise, therefore, 


includes both patience and faith. He that believes will not make 
haste, Is 28! Ro 9* 2 Th 3°. 


378 STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES © 


5. Rightly to employ the promises, we must use them, 
not indeed as the ground or measure of duty, but yet as 
motives to exertion and prayer. 


God has promised to deliver His Church and to destroy her adver- 
saries; but not so as to supersede our own caution and endeavour. 
Paul had received a promise that he should see Rome, and yet, when 
the conspiracy was framed to assassinate him, he immediately took 
steps to protect his life, as if no promise had been given, Ac 231” ; 
compare 27°21, In every case, the precept is our rule, though the 
promise may influence our motives and encourage our prayers. 

God promised David to establish his house, and David therefore 
pleaded the more earnestly with God to fulfil His promise, 2 Sa 71%*5. 

God had promised, in the days of Elijah, to ‘send rain upon the 
earth,’ 1 Ki 181, and yet Elijah prays with the greater earnestness and 
perseverance, 1 Ki 184-44, 

Daniel knew that the seventy years’ captivity was expiring when 
he set his face by prayer to seek its accomplishment, Dn 9?*. 

When our Lord had promised the gift of the Holy Ghost, the 
disciples continued in prayer till the promise was fulfilled, Ac 1™, 


Rightly to employ the promises, we must use them to 
promote holiness. They are given that through their means 
we ‘may become partakers of a Divine nature.’ Nor is 
the design of God answered, unless they deepen our 
thankfulness and bind us to a life of holy and devoted 
obedience, 2 Pet 1* 2 Cor 7}. 

Collections of Scripture promises, such as are found in many books, 
may be of great use, or the reverse, according to the discrimination 
with which they are cited and applied. Each particular promise has, 


so to speak, its own sefiing; and this must be carefully taken into 
account, 





PART IL 





| 


THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 





‘Though many other books are comparable to cloth, in which, by 
a small pattern, we may safely judge of the whole piece, yet the 
Bible is like a fair suit of arras, of which, though a shred may 
assure you of the fineness of the colours and richness of the stuff, 
yet the hangings never appear to their true advantage but when 
they are displayed to their full dimensions and are seen together.’— 
Boy x, On the Style of Scripture. 


The Wooks of the Wible 
CHAPTER XI 
INTRODUCTORY 


229. Recapitulation.— We now come to the study of the 
books of the Bible. Already we have considered— 

The general divisions of Scripture: the two Testaments: 
the Law, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings of the Old: 
the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation of the New: 
_ with the history of their transmission to modern times; 
and the laws and methods of Biblical criticism: 

The claims of Scripture as genuine, authentic, and inspired, 
with the evidences of its Divine origin : 

The great characteristics of Scripture as a revelation of 
God, of man, and of the plan of salvation reconciling both, 
securing at once peace and holiness: a revelation gradually 
communicated, everywhere consistent ; taught, however, 
without a formally announced system, though all centring 
in the Cross of Christ : 

The principles of interpretation, their special applications, 
and the use of external helps ; the spirit, above all, in which 
inquiries into the meaning of Scripture should be conducted : 

The systematic study of Scripture ; its applications to 
practical life ; with the difficulties of various kinds con- 
nected with all these questions. 

Having thus viewed sacred Scripture as a whole, we pro- 
ceed to examine its particular portions, and to apply more 
minutely the rules and principles already discussed. 


382 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 


230. The two parts of Scripture.—The Bible is com- 
posed of two parts: the Old Testament and the New; the 
second containing a full revelation of the Divine will, and 
a plan of salvation addressed to all; the first containing not 
all probably that God revealed in early times to our race, 
but as much as He deemed it necessary to preserve. Every 
part of what is thus revealed is ‘profitable for teaching, 
for reproof, for correction, for discipline which is in 
righteousness.’ 


231. Use of the Old Testament.—The use of the former 
Testament is highly important: and a simple statement of 
this use will show the connexion of the two. 


1, Though most of it was addressed to one nation, yet it enjoins 
much on man as man, and contains principles of morality which are 
universal and eternal. The precepts which were given to Adam, 
the Decalogue, and the appeals of the whole book illustrate and 
enforce moral truth, 

2. Much of the history of the Old Testament is the history of God's 
government. In that government He illustrates His own character 
and ours; and whatever advantage an inspired record of this kind 
can give, we derive from this part of the sacred volume. 

3. Further, the hopelessness of salvation by law is clearly taught 
in this earlier dispensation. The patriarchal faith, with its imme- 
diate or traditional communications, ended in a corruption which 
not even the Deluge could check. Solemn legal institutes, with 
rites and sanctions most instructive and awful, failed to preserve 
the people from idolatry, though the great Legislator himself re- 
peatedly interposed; and when, after the Captivity, idolatry ceased, 
formalism and infidelity extended on every side, and at length pre- 
vailed. In the meantime, the power of natural religion was tried 
among the heathen: and the result of the whole, the result of an 
experiment carried on under every form of government, amidst 
different degrees of civilization, with traditional knowledge and 
immediate light, is a demonstration that in our fallen state reforma- 
tion by law is hopeless, and that, unless some other plan be introduced, 
our race must perish. The Old Testament was given, therefore, in 
part. to show us our sinful state, and to shut us up unto the faith 
which should afterwards be revealed (Gal. 3°), 

4. To this new faith it is also an introduction, teaching to the 
spiritual and humble under the first dispensation more or less of 





—— 


INTRODUCTORY 383 


the plan of salvation to be revealed under the second. MHence its 
types, prophecies, sacrifices; hence assurances of pardon to the 
penitent, and the revelation of a God ready to forgive ; although the 
procuring cause of pardon, the provision that was to reveal the one- 
ness of justice with mercy, was not fully understood till the remedial 
work of Christ was accomplished. 

Other purposes also were no doubt answered by this first dispen- 
sation. A knowledge of the true God, which might otherwise have 
died away, was preserved ; and the effect of true religion, even in its 
less perfect forms, was illustrated; but the foregoing are probably 
the chief. 


The relation of the New Testament to these purposes of 
the Old is plain. The second, or new covenant, is a double 
completion of the jist. As the first was a covenant of 
types. and predictions, the second fulfils it; putting the 
fact in the place of the prophecy, and in the place of 
the shadow, the substance. As under the first, moreover, the 
revelation of God and of duty was imperfect, the second 
filled up the system of truth and of precept which was 
thus but partially disclosed, developing and explaining it 
with more of spiritual application, making it universal, and 
securing for it in a richer degree the influence of the Spirit. 
In a double sense, then, the gospel is the completion 
(zAjpwors) of the Law. 


232. Summary of the whole.—Regarding the whole 
Bible in its connexions, we are prepared to trace the 
continual development of Divine truth in its different parts. 


In the first eleven chapters of Grnrsis, and in Jos, we have the 
outlines of the patriarchal religion ; in the later chapters of Genesis, 
the history of the transition from it to the temporary and typical 
dispensation of the Law. In the other books of the Prenrareucn, 
we have the moral law, illustrative at once of God’s character, and 
of human duty; the ceremonial, with its foreshadowings of the great 
atonement ; and the civil, the means of the preservation of the other 
two. In the settlement of the Jews under JosHua, whether con- 
sidered in itself, or as an emblem of the future ; in the apostasy of 
the Jews, their punishment and deliverance under the Jupexs; in 
the establishment of the prophetic and kingly oftices of LATER 


384 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 


Books, in addition to the priestly ; and in the unchanging yet diver- 
sified tenor of God’s providence to His separated people, we have 
our knowledge of the Divine character and purpose varied and aug- 
mented. In the Psatms we have the utterances of devout hearts, 
touched and inspired by the Divine Spirit, through many generations ; 
with much that is predictive of Him in Whom all devout hearts trust. 
In the worps of Sotomon, as well as of other sages, we learn both the 
wisdom and the vanity of the world, and are at the same time con- 
ducted beyond the maxims of worldly prudence, to Him Who is the 
Eternal Wisdom. In the Book of Isatan we discern the Messiah, 
as Prophet, Sacrifice, and King; and are led, from scenes of the 
Captivity, to the forecast of the greater deliverance. In JEREMIAH 
the same scenes are revealed, though dimly, and as in a cloudy and 
dark day. In Ezexren the shadowy priesthood of the Jews is enlarged 
into a more glorious and spiritual worship: and in Danren we see 
the termination of all kingly power in the never-ending empire 
of the Messiah. The mtnork PROPHETS present the same views of the 
Divine government, either in providence or in grace; and Matacur 
closes the old revelation with predictions of the coming appearance 
of the Sun of righteousness. 

In the New Testament, Matrnew, after a silence of the prophetic 
spirit for 4oo years, connects the ancient Scriptures with the more 
recent, and completes prophecy by pointing out its fulfilment in 
Christ. Luxe reveals Him as a light to lighten the Gentiles ; 
Mark as the mighty God; Joun as the everlasting Father, and as the 
Prince of peace. The Acts continues the illustration of the fulfilment 
of ancient predictions, and connects the facts of the gospel history 
with the Epistles. Each epistle, while giving most of the doctrines 
of the gospel, embodies distinctly some particular truth. The 
Epistles to the Turssatonrans exhibit the self-evidencing power of 
the gospel in the hearts of believers, and set forth the antecedents 
and result of the Second Coming. The Epistles to the CorrmyrHtans 
explain Christian unity, set forth the application of Christian prin- 
ciples to difficult problems of life, and declare the doctrine of the 
Resurrection. The Epistle to the Romans gives to those whom Paul 
had not then visited a full view of the gospel without reference to 
any previous communication, enlarging most on the great truth of 
justification by faith. The simplicity of that faith, and its inde- 
pendence of the Law, in opposition to the legalism of Judaizing 
teachers, is maintained in the Epistle to the Gatatrans; while that 
to the Cotossians points out the contrast between the principles of 
the gospel and the tenets of a false philosophy, and that to the 
Epuestans shows that language is inadequate to express the fullness 
which is communicated in all-abounding grace, from the Head to the 





INTRODUCTORY 385 


body ; the Epistle to the Hrsrews shows the connexion between the 
Christian faith and its Old Testament foreshadowings ; that of Jamus 
exhibits the connexion between the Christian faith and practical 
holiness; the First Epistle of Joun dwells upon the doctrine of the 
Divine Love, and its influence upon human life; and the First 
Epistle of Prrer sets forth the glory of the Christian, calling in 
allusions taken from the ancient Scriptures. Other epistles treat of 
specific duties or truths, and the system of revelation is completed 
by the Arocatypse, which unites and closes the prophecies that go 
before, and introduces the Church, after all her trials and changes, 
to victory and rest on earth, and then into never-ending blessedness 
in heaven. 


The volume that speaks of these topics may be described 
as consisting of two parts; but they form really one book; 
and the truths it reveals are ever the same, dimly seen or 
fully discloged, according to their position in relation to the 
advent and work of the Christ. 


233. True place of the Old Testament.—It becomes 
us, then, duly to appreciate both Testaments. Study the Old 
to see what God has done, and what therefore He is. See 
in it a solemn protest against idolatry; a proof that none 
can be justified by the deeds of the Law; a gradual dis- 
closure of the Divine will and of the plan of redemption. 
Prize it for these reasons, but remember also that, in com- 
parison with the New, inspired writers speak of it in 
depreciating terms. The old dispensation, apart from its 
fulfilment in the new, is ‘darkness,’ ‘flesh,’ ‘letter,’ 
‘bondage,’ ‘the elements of the world’ (Gal. 4°) ; while in the 
gospel there is ‘light,’ ‘spirit,’ ‘liberty,’ ‘a heavenly kingdom.’ 
Important principles of interpretation are thus suggested, 
nor less the peculiar obligations of our position., It is now 
doubly binding upon us to be complete in all His will. 
Our dispensation is light, let us be wise: it is spirit, let us 
be holy: it is power, let us be strong. 


234. Classification of Old Testament Books.—The 
thirty-nine books of the Old Testament may be arranged on 
Cc 


A 
386 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 


different principles. Sometimes they are classed according 
to their contents: the Pentateuch, the historical books, the 
poetical books, the ‘wisdom-literature,’ and the Prophets. 
This division is sufficiently accurate, though several of the 
books belong to two or more classes, and the division has 
not been uniformly observed. Sometimes they are classed 
in the order of time; and as much of the meaning of 
Scripture is elicited by the chronological study of the 
different books, we shall throughout indicate this order ; 
while regarding, in the general arrangement, their difference 
in object and contents. 

The importance of specific introductions to each of the 
books of the Bible must not be disregarded. Such intro- 
ductions will often prove, as Bishop Perey has observed, 
‘the best of commentaries, and frequently supersede the 
want of any. Like an intelligent guide, they direct the 
reader right at his first setting out, and thereby save him 
the trouble of much after-inquiry; or, like a map of the 
country through which he is to travel, they give him a 
general view of his journey, and prevent his being after- 
wards bewildered and lost.’ 

We begin with the Penrareucn. 


CHAPTER XII 
THE PENTATEUCH 


Its Genuineness, Unity, and Authenticity 


235. The Five Books.—All complete copies of Holy 
Scripture begin with the Pentrateucu. It was called by 
the Jews ‘the Law’ (Torah), or, more fully, ‘ the five-fifths 
of the Law®,’ or simply ‘the fifths’; a single book being 
called ‘a fifth.” The whole, it is probable, was originally 
one, divided into five sections, each section taking as its 
title its first word or words. For the smaller divisions 
(Parashioth) see Part I, § 119. 

The separation of the books into five (Gr. zévre) is thought 
by many due to the Alexandrian translators; although 
such facts as the Jewish arrangement of the Psalter in jive 
books, and the collection of the five ‘Megilloth,’ or rolls, 
seem to indicate an early tradition in regard to this special 
number. The names by which the several books are now 
known, as well as the word Pentateuch itself», are from the 
Greek of Alexandria. 

The ‘Hexateuch.’—Some modern critics¢ have proposed 
to amend this arrangement by including the Book of Joshua, 
which has several points in common with the Five. Hence 


§ Rabbinical : mina wan nvion, 


> The word Tedxos ordinarily means an implement, hence, in Alexan- 
drian Greek, a volume. 

° In fact, ‘tlie Book of Joshua so plainly presupposes the Law of 
Moses, that the only resort for those who denied the Mosaic author- 
ship of the Five Books was to make a sixth of this in the same series. 


cc2 


388 THE PENTATEUCH i 


the appellation Hexarevucn (Gr. é£, siz), ‘the Six Volumes *,’ 
There appears, however, no adequate reason for abandoning 
the ancient and familiar division, according to which the Book 
of the Law naturally closes with the record of the great 
Lawgiver’s death. These Five Books, moreover, stand apart 
from the rest, as pre-eminently the basis of the Hebrew 
Theocracy. 


Mosaic Origin 
236. Difficulties at the outset; how met.—Certain 
preliminary difficulties have been urged against the Mosaic 
authorship of these books. 
1. It was long maintained that the arts of writing and 
of literary composition were not sufficiently advanced in 
the time of Moses to allow of such productions. 


The futility of this objection has been abundantly shown by the 
iestimony of the monuments. In particular, the Tel el-Amarna 
tablets, discovered in 1887 on the site of an ancient royal city in 
Middle Egypt, have yielded to explorers a long series of inscriptions 
belonging to about the fifteenth century B.c.® 

Still earlier are the Babylonian tablets of the reign of Khammurabi 
(now identified with Amraphel, King of Shinar, Gen 14'), showing 
that writing and literature existe’ in the days of Abraham. One 
of the most remarkable of the recently discovered monuments of 
antiquity is the code of laws promulgated by this king, centuries 
before the time of Moses. This code has been made accessible to 
English readers in a small volume edited by C. H. W. Johns, M.A., 
under the title of The Oldest Code of Laus in the World (T. & T. Clark, 
1903). This work performs a double service—first, by decisively 
refuting the above objection; and, secondly, by showing that the 
Mosaic code could not (as some critics assert) have been derived from 
the Babylonian. 


2. It has been alleged that the books imply a state of 


* Kuenen (who seems to have originated the term), Wellhausen, 
Robertson Smith, Driver, and their followers. 

’ A lively description of the contents of these documents is given 
in a tract by Carl Niebuhr (1901). See also Sayce’s Higher Criticism and 
the Verdict of the Monuments (1895). 


MOSAIC ORIGIN 389 


religious culture inconsistent with the early date claimed 
for them. 


This is a mere assumption, without evidence; arbitrarily setting 
aside not only the internal marks of authenticity which the history 
contains, but its confirmation from the Israelite religion in subsequent 
ages. That religion has its manifest basis in an early monotheism, 
such as the patriarchal annals portray. The Pentateuch accounts for 
the mighty fabric of the Jewish faith—without it, the whole system 
- becomes confused and unintelligible *. 


237. Moses the author.—The way is then open to con- 
sider the positive evidence for the genuineness of the Five 
Books. That they emanated from Moses is attested by 
considerations such as the following :— 

I. Tradition.— Universal ancient tradition, both Jewish 
and heathen, assigns it to him. 

The conviction of the Jewish people was uniform and unquestioning 
from the first. Throughout the Old Testament, the fact is taken for 
~ granted as indisputable. See Jos 17§ 8°54 236 7 Kia a Ki 11! 
(‘the Testimony’: see reff. R.V.) 14° 23° 1 Ch 22!7!8 2 Ch 254 33° 
Ezr 3°—§ 618 Ne 178 and 8. 

Heathen testimonies naturally follow the Jewish, which are ac- 
cepted without question by Tacitus, Juvenal, and Strabo; also by 
Longinus, Porphyry, and the Emperor Julian. Mohammed explicitly 
recognizes the inspiration of Moses and the Divine origin of the 
Jewish Law. 


2. Traces in the Books.—This testimony is sustained 
by the record itself. 


The references in the Pentateuch to ‘a book,’ or to ‘the book’ 
which was in course of preparation, are repeated and explicit. See 
Ex 17'* 245-7 Num 33? Dé 28°8-51 319-!2-°4. Tt is noteworthy, however, 
that none of the kooks, excepting Deuteronomy, directly claims 
Mosaic authorship. 


3. Testimony of other Scriptures.—The remaining Old 
Testament books, especially the Prophets, abound in references, 
more or less explicit, to these Five Books. The laws, the 

* On the whole subject, see Prof. James Robertson’s Early Religion of 


Israel, ‘ Baird Lectures’ for 1889; also Dr. E.C. Bissell’s The Pentateuch, 
its Origin and Structure (1885), Introduction. 


Oe ee 


390 THE PENTATEUCH 


histories, the very phraseology of the Pentateuch, were 
evidently in the minds of the sacred writers, as familiar and 
authoritative. ‘The Torah was a book so well known that 
its words had become household words among the people’ 
(Perowne). 


A small selection of instances must suffice. The evidence, it 
must be remembered, is cumulative. A few coincidences might con- 
ceivably be accidental; many, taken separately, would be of little 
force; but, combined. they are irresistible *. 

From Prophets of the Northern Kingdom, the following references 
may be given :— 

Hosea 1° (Gen 2217) 41° (Lev 267°) 418 (Dt 12%) 5° (Ex 10°) 8!%, a 
remarkable passage, which may be rendered (as R.V. marg.) ‘ I wrote 
for him the ten thousand things of My law, but’ &c., 117 (Ex 42%) 11° 
(Dt 15!) 118 (Dt 2977-25) 12° (Gen 25° 3927-28) ra5 (Ex 3%) 19° (Dt 
SE 

Amos 2° (Num 2178) 27 (Ex 238, &c.) 4* (Num 285) 9'* (Lev jer 

From Prophets of the Southern Kingdoms a 

JoEL 2? (Ex ro!*) 25-46-27 (Ley 264-5-11-18), 

Isatan 11® (Num 14”) 12? (Ex 157) 34" and JEREMIAH 4°° 
(Gen 12) 41° (Dt 318-8) 442 (Dt 32! 33°28) sal? (Ex 12-39 1419) sg 
(Dt 321), 

See also Micau 5’ and Hapakkuk 3" (Dt 32™8) Mic 6° (Num 22°) 
ZEPHANIAH 335 (Ley 26°°*). 


This array of passages, to which many others might have 
been added », are evident references to an earlier literature. 
Especially is it observable that those quoted from Hosea 
and Isaiah prove Deuteronomy to have been known to these 
prophets ; while those from Hosea and Amos show that the 
Five Books were recognized in the Northern Kingdom— 
a fact of prime importance. That Jeremi1an also abounds 
in references to Deuteronomy is admitted by all. 


4. New Testament witness.— Our Lord and His Apostles 
consistently assume and refer to the Mosaic origin of the 
Pentateuch. | 

* See, for a full display of this argument, Hengstenberg, Die Authentic 


des Pentateuchs; also Stanley Leathes, The Law in the Prophets (1891). 
> See a fairly complete list in Leathes, as quoted above. 


MOSAIC ORIGIN 391 


It is impossible here to enter on the profound and difficult 
subject of our Lord’s knowledge as man, or to discuss the 
likelihood of His adopting, without endorsing, the current 
notions of His time in regard to the Old Testament Canon. 
But it is impossible to read such passages as Jn 117 54°" 47 
7-23 without feeling that the whole weight of New 
Testament authority is on the ‘traditional’ side. 


5. Archaisms.—There are indications of early origin in 
the use of certain words and Hebrew forms which do not 
occur in other parts of the Old Testament. 

To trace these archaisms adequately requires a knowledge of the 
language. The following are especially noticeable. The feminine 
demonstrative personal pronoun of the third person hi (w7) is almost 
invariably * written xy in the. Pentateuch (like the masculine) in- 
cluding Deuteronomy, and nowhere else. Again, the masculine form 
naar (av) is used for girl as well as boy in the Five Books”, the femi- 
nine, a later form, being employed elsewhere. So with several other 
words, of which older forms attest the early origin of the Pentateuch*% 


6. Internal Evidence. — The contents are throughout 
consistent with Mosaic authorship. (1) The books were 
written by a Hebrew speaking the language and cherishing 
the sentiments of his nation. (2) They were written by a 
Hebrew acquainted with Egypt and Arabia, their customs 
and learning4, But Egyptian learning was carefully con- 
cealed from foreigners. The priests alone, and the royal 
family, who were reckoned as priests, had access to it 
(see Herodotus, ii. 3, 164, 168, &c.). To this class, therefore, 
the writer must have belonged. (3) There is, moreover, an 
exact correspondence between the narrative and the institu- 
tions, showing that both had one author. The laws are 
not given in the form of statutes, but are mixed with 


* There are only eleven exceptions. 

> The only exception is in Dt 2219, 

¢ See the list given by Bp. Perowne in Smith’s Dict. Bible, ii. 783. 
Observe that the usage in Deuteronomy is specially included. 

4 See Gen 13! go!!16 47°°-26 Num 1322 Dt 1129, 


narrative, and are inserted as the exigencies requiring them 
arose. They are often briefly sketched, and afterwards 
repeated at greater length, with such modifications as 
were demanded by altered cireumstances*. (4) No less 
remarkable is the agreement between the style of the 
different books and the circumstances of Moses, as depicted. 
In the earlier narrative of Exodus and Numbers, the style 
is broken and abrupt, as that of a journal kept from time 
to time, with frequent interruptions. In Deuteronomy it is 
continuous and hortatory. The Five Books, at the same time, 
exhibit the unity of design which bespeaks a single author. 


392 THE PENTATEUCH 


7. Deuteronomy in particular.—The case of DevreERoNomY 
is special, It is supposed, although there is no direct evi- 
dence as proof, that it was ‘the book’ that Hilkiah the 
high-priest discovered in the Temple during the repairs 
under King Josiah, 2 Ki 22'° 2 Ch 344%. Hence it has 
been concluded by some critics that Hilkiah himself pre- 
pared the book, while others, shrinking from this imputa- 
tion of literary forgery, have on various grounds referred 
the book to the time of Manasseh (Ewald, Driver), or the 
early days of Isaiah (Kuenen, Cheyne, Montefiore). This view 
has been supported by the alleged differences in some 
important respects between the Deuteronomie and the 
Levitical legislation. Such differences are noted in a sub- 
section: it is enough now to say that they might naturally 
arise from the circumstances in which the great Lawgiver 
uttered his final charge to Israel. The desert-wandering 
was over, and the instructions now given were adapted to 
the new life on which the people were entering», The 
following facts are of use in determining the question :— 


@ Compare Ex 2127 and Dt 15!*-!7; Num q*4-S and 7!-*®; Ley 1754 
and Dt 1256-1; Ex 22% and Dt 24% 10-15, 

> It may be further argued that the phrase ‘beyond Jordan,’ which 
has been thought to prove the book to have been written in western 
Palestine, is referable to eiiher side of the river, meaning ‘at the 


MOSAIC ORIGIN 393 


(1) The references to Egypt in Deuteronomy are such as 
would be made by one conversant with the life of that 
country, and newly escaped from its bondage. 

(2) The language of the book, in the archaic forms above 
mentioned, as well as in other respects, corresponds with 
that of the rest of the Pentateuch, rather than with that of 
other Old Testament books. 

(3) The references already given abundantly prove that 
Deuteronomy was known to the prophets of the Northern 
and the Southern Kingdoms. 

(4) The whole tone of the book is inconsistent with the 
later date assigned to it. Had its object been to bring down 
the provisions of the Law to the later times of the monarchy 
there are omissions and insertions alike inconceivable @. 


Among the omissions may be mentioned that of the Service of Song 
in the House of Jehovah; among the insertions, the decree for the 
utter extermination of the Canaanites. Had the book been written 
several generations after the disappearance of these tribes, such 
injunctions would have been, says Professor Green of Princeton, ‘as 
utterly out of date as a law in New Jersey at the present time 
offering a bounty for killing wolves, or a royal proclamation in Great 
Britain ordering the expulsion of the Danes.’ 


(5) There is, at the same time, nothing in the Mosaic 
origin of the books inconsistent with the view that it was 
reduced to writing in Canaan, after the conquest. Such was 
the later view of that distinguished critic and expositor of the 
Old Testament, Bishop Perowne. That it already existed, 
and was known when the Book of Samuel was written, the 
bishop decisively proves >. 


crossing of the Jordan.’ It is in fact employed in the very same 
chapter to denote both the eastern and the western territory. See 
ch, 382°, But compare (5) below. 
® See an essay by Dr. A. Moody Stuart in The Bible true to Itself (1885). 
> ‘Hophni and Phinehas break the law by which the priests’ dues 
were regulated, and the very phrases of 1 Sa 2! are borrowed from 
Dt 18°.’ Sce two papers by Bishop Perowne (then Dean of Peterborough) 


a 
394 THE PENTATEUCH 


Unity 


238. Implied in Mosaic origin.—The Mosaic origin of 
the Five Books implies their essential unity. Whatever the 
remoter or later sources of this or that part of the annals, 
the divinely inspired historian and lawgiver of the Hebrew 
people fused them into one. 

In considering this point, two qualifying remarks are both 
obvious and important. 


1. Earlier Documents.—The unity asserted does not in 
any way exclude the employment of pre-existing documents. 
Inspiration does not supersede the ordinary methods of the 
historian ; and every historian has recourse to his authorities. 
In the present case, it is impossible to suppose that previous 
records would be ignored. 

The great outstanding events of the world’s history 
from the dawn of time left their trace in human memory 
and gave rise—we know not how—to such traditions as 
appear in monumental records. Vitringa long ago remarked 
that Moses may have had before him ‘ documents of various 
kinds, coming down from the times of the Patriarchs, and 
preserved among the Israelites, which he collected, digested, 
and amplified where deficient*.’ Such records, albeit in 
strange and varied forms, are now known to haye been 
preserved by different nations—Egyptian, Assyrian, Baby- 
lonian; and Moses could not have been ignorant of them. 
Almost every year brings to light some fresh tradition, with 
its legendary and mythological accretions; and we cannot 
but recognize and admire the Divine guidance by which the 
in the Contemporary Review for January and February, 1885, ‘The Age 
of the Pentateuch,’ where the reasoning is mainly directed to show 
that the ‘ Priestly Code’ must have preceded Deuteronomy. 

* Observationes Sacre, 1707, i. 4, § 23. This remark of the famous Dutch 
divine has been endorsed by theologians of different schools, long 


before the era of modern criticism. See Calmet, Horne, Pye Smith, 
Moses Stuart, and others. 


UNITY 395 


inspired historian was led through realms of fable into the 
region of knowledge and of truth *. 


2. Editorial Revision.—Again, the Mosaic authorship 
does not preclude the notion of editorial care in succeeding 
ages. We are not to suppose that we have in our hands the 
Five Books, without alteration or addition, as they were 
written in the wilderness. Changes are not indeed to be 
arbitrarily assumed; but the work of later hands appears 
upon the very surface. 


Thus, where we are told (Gen 13”) ‘The Canaanite was then in the 
land,’ we infer that when that sentence was written the Canaanites 
had been dispossessed. In Gen 36°! ‘These are the kings that 
reigned, ... before there reigned any king over the children of Israel,’ 
is plainly a later addition to the early text». In Ex 16° that ‘the 
children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came unto 
the borders of the land of Canaan,’ is a remark most probably added 
after their entrance into Palestine. See also Lev 187%. In like manner, 
modern names of places are found in the text: Dan, Gen 14" Dt 34! 
(see Jos 19*7 Judg 1827-29) ; Hebron, Gen 1318 23” (see Jos 141 Judg 11°) ; 
and perhaps Hormah, Num 14* (see 211° Judg 17). Editorial 
parentheses may also have been introduced into Gen 13° 142°8 Dt 3° 448. 
It is perfectly supposable that such alterations, with others, were made 
by Ezra when he issued ‘the Book of the Law’ after the Captivity ; 
but however this may have been, the isolated phrases cannot be 
suffered to weigh against the abundant evidence for the earlier origin 
of the book that contains them. That the last chapter of Deuteronomy 
was added atter the death of Moses is, of course, unquestionable. 


A threefold element.—On the whole, we may safely 


recognize in the Pentateuch a pre-Mosaic, a Mosaic, and 
_a post-Mosaic element, the second of these being supreme. 


239. Critical Theories. The remarks above made, if 
legitimately applied, will lead to interesting and valuable 


® See The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends 
of Assyria and Babylonia, by Dr. Theophilus G. Pinches (S.P.C.K., 1902). 
The Babylonian tradition of the Creation and the Flood, as given in 
this volume, may be instructively compared with the histories in 
Genesis. 

> This is found again in 1 Ch 145", 


396 THE PENTATEUCH 


results, and will be a true help in the interpretation of 
many passages. But it is necessary to notice the exaggerated 
and extravagant use that has been made of these obvious 
laws of criticism in modern times. 


Varied use of the Divine Names. 1. About the middle of the 
eighteenth century there was published at Brussels a work by Jean 
Astrue, Professor of Medicine at Paris, and Court Physician to 
Louis XIV, in which the various use of the Divine names in Genesis 
and the first six chapters in Exodus was made the ground of ‘ con- 
jectures’ as to the ‘ original documents of which Moses apparently 
availed himself.’ Thus in Gen 1}-2° the name Elohim, ‘God,’ is uni- 
formly employed ; in 2*-3 it is Jehovah Elohim (a double appellation, it 
may be remarked, nowhere else occurring in the Pentateuch, excepting 
Ex 9°). In ch. 5 it is Elohim only, excepting in ver. 29, where a 
quotation is made. In chs. 6-9 Elohim and Jehovah are used in- 
discriminately everywhere, and in 113—* 12 13 Jehovahonly. In ch. 14 
a new name is introduced, Zl-Elyin (God Most High), and is used 
throughout the chapter *. 


Developments of the Theory. Such variations furnished a hint 
for distinguishing the documents employed. In the view of Astruc, 
these were mainly two—‘ Elohist’ and ‘ Jehovist,’ with a few 
unclassed and subordinate sections. The clue was followed up by 
Eichhorn, Ilgen, and others, before the close of the century, and by 
a large body of critics in the nineteenth; of whom Kuenen and 
Wellhausen rank among the chief. A vast literature has grown up 
around the subject. The Mosaic authorship, which Astrue, Eichhorn, 
and their immediate followers regarded as unquestionable, is now 
denied by the critics, while the hypothesis of various documents 
has been extended from Genesis and Exodus to the other books of the 
Pentateuch, and latterly to Joshua. 


Different Hypotheses. 2. Further tests of composite character in 
the work have been discovered or conjectured. There has been chrono- 
logical as well as literary dislocation, Formerly the Deuteronomic 
code was regarded as, without doubt, subsequent to the Levitical ; 


* To this enumeration it is added, in the first edition of this 
Handbook, that ‘the errors and refinements of some modern writers 
have brought the theory (‘‘ documentary”) founded on the distinction 
stated into perhaps undeserved discredit.’ In view of the present 
state of opinion on the subject, it seems advisable to go somewhat more 
into detail. 


UNITY 397 


now the Levitical is, with the same critical certainty, placed after the 
Deuteronomic*. Theories of construction have successively displaced 
one another. The ‘ Documentary’ was followed by the ‘ Fragmentary ’ 
hypothesis; and when the latter had been universally discredited, 
a ‘Supplementary’ theory took its place. The hypothetical authors, 
too, are various. The former ‘Elohist’ has been superseded, so far as 
the first twenty chapters of Genesis are concerned, by the ‘priestly 
writer,’ who also furnished the main Levitical code; and there is 
a redactor or editor, who has to bear much responsibility in com- 
bining and altering the several accounts. There is no finality in the 
conclusions reached, and some extravagances of the bolder theorists 
may well make the inquirer pause >. 


Extreme theories, and reaction. Among the more recent is the 
announcement that Israel as a people was never in Egypt at all, 
but that the clan of Moses may have settled in an insignificant 
Arabian district with a similar name (Mitzrim for Mitzraim). In 
estimating the modern criticism, such indications of tendency are not 
to be overlooked. If we cannot judge accurately of the separate steps, 
it is at least useful to know whither they are leading us; and it is 
not wonderful that in Germany, the home of such theories, a healthful 
reaction has been provoked °. 


* See above, § 237, 7, on the genuineness of Deuteronomy. This 
change of front on the part of revolutionary critics is very noticeable. 
By stress of their own arguments they have been compelled to assign 
the Priestly Code to this later period, notwithstanding both external 
and internal evidence to the contrary. 

> Thus, practically, the whole of Genesis has been reduced to 
legend. The early religion of the Hebrews has been declared to have 
sprung from Babylonian mythology. The Patriarchs and their lives 
are represented as mythical. In the Nineteenth Century for December, 
1902, a ‘hospitable reception ’ is bespoken from the English Christian 
public for the views of Dr. Winckler, the German Assyriologist and 
historian, to the effect that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are legendary 
heroes whose histories are derived from astronomical myths ; Jacob’s 
twelve sons representing the twelve signs of the zodiac, and so on. 
So with the subsequent history of Israel. Saul and Jonathan are the 
constellation Gemini. David isa solar hero; his red hair is an image 
of the rays of the sun, and he himself is a reflex of the constellation 
Leo ; Goliath standing for Orion. All this would, of course, be little 
worth notice, but that it comes to us with the sanction of theological 
professors and ecclesiastical dignitaries. 

© See especially an essay, entitled Historisch-kritische Bedenken gegen 

.die Graf- Wellhausen’sche Hypothese; von einem frtihoren Anhanger 


Ro balled 


398 THE PENTATEUCH 


240. Proposed Reconstruction criticized *.—It is quite 
impossible, in a work like the present, fully to analyse the 
proposed reconstruction of the Pentateuch, if indeed, amid 
conflicting theories, it were possible to decide what the final 
reconstruction is to be. But some¢general considerations 
may be useful to the student. 


I. The Divine Names.—The groundwork of the theory 
being the various use of the Divine names alleged to 
distinguish different documents, it is necessary that the facts 
under this head should be carefully scrutinized. 


That there are two accounts of the Creation, the former characterized 
by the name Elohim, the latter by that of Jehovah-Elohim, is in- 
disputable : that in the narrative of the Deluge two narratives are 


(Wilhelm Miller), 1899 : translated for the R. T.S. by C. H. Irwin, 
under the title Are the Critics right? 

* It may be convenient here to give the latest proposed arrange- 
ment of the legislation. It can hardly be regarded, even by its 
supporters, as final, in view of the many preceding schemes which 
have had their day and ceased to be. The scheme is as follows :— 

1. The two so-called Books of the Covenant, Ex 20-23 and 3421426, 
wrought together from the original sources, J E (Jehovist and Elohist), 
which existed before the prophetic writings. ‘ 

2. Deuteronomy (D). 

3. The Priestly Code (P or PC), which, besides a brief prefatory 
history, contains the injunctions, Ex 25-311" 35-40 Levy 1-27 Num 
1-1078 15 18 19 25°-31 33-36 (only the longer sections are enumerated : 
Miller). R stands for editor (redactor) of the whole. 

The first of these ‘is a brief code dating from an early period, and 
designed to regulate the life of a ¢dommunity living under simple 
conditions and devoting itself chiefly to agriculture.” 

The second ‘is without doubt the Book of the Law, which was found 
in the Temple in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, 8.0. 621, and 
which formed the prime factor in his great reformation, 2 Ki 22*- 
ag%? 

‘The last appears to have grown up during the Exile, and to have 
attained its present form probably in the days of Ezra, about the 
middle of the fifth century B.c.’ (Contentio Veritatis, essay by C. F. 
Burney, M.A., 1902). 

The value of this and other conjectural schemes may be judged in 
the light of the foregoing observations, 


UNITY 399 


apparently interwoven, may he readily admitted. How to account 
for these facts, much more for others, where the combination or inter- 
fusion is less traceable, is another question. And we are led to ask 
whether there may not be another reason than that of double or triple 
authorship to account for the variation in name. ELonim, we know, 
stands for God as in Himself regarded, Creator and Lord of the 
universe; JEHOVAH, for the Covenant God, the God of His people. 
May there not have been a deep reason why the same writer should 
employ both of these august names? On the one hand, Jehovah 
is Elohim. Our God it is Who has made the heaven and the earth, 
and all that therein is. He is no mere tutelary God like the gods 
of the nations, but omnipotent, supreme. On the other hand, Elohim 
is Jehovah. The God Who made all things and rules the universe 
is the God, in a peculiar sense, of Israel, His chosen nation. 
And the use of both the names together in ‘the second account of 
the Creation’ accentuates the twofold fact. Well therefore may the 
‘two accounts’ (if originally two, as alleged) have been brought 
together by one inspired mind and pen, for the sake of their com- 
bined lesson. But the case is not one for mere theorizing. The 
attempt to apply the critical canon of a double origin breaks hope- 
lessly down. When the facts are against the theory, the facts have to 
be altered, that the theory may stand! Not once or twice merely 
Elohim is found where the hypothesis demands Jehovah, and the 
converse ; the critic’s inference being that the text is corrupt, or that 
the redactor has thrown it into confusion. One illustration must 
suffice. In the interview of Abraham with the heathen King 
Abimelech, resulting in the covenant of Beer-sheba (Gen 21), the 
name of God employed is Elohim (2177:*5), but when Abraham 
worshipped there alone, he called upon Jehovah (21°%). But the 
critics, ignoring the obvious reason of this interchange of names, tell 
us that verse 33 is ‘a fragment of J inserted by Rin a narrative 
of E.’ Can criticism be more inept than this? * 


‘Nothing, writes Professor C. von Orelli, ‘is more 
astonishing to me than the readiness with which even 
diligent explorers in the field attach themselves to the 
dominant theory, and repeat the most rash hypotheses as 
if they were part of an unquestioned creed. Under these 


* Professor W. Ii. Green, of Princeton, has given a long list of 
similarly futile criticisms (The Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch, 


Pp. 92-98). 


400 THE PENTATEUCH 


circumstances, the elements of fact on the other side must 
be emphasized until they receive their due weight.’ 


2. It is too common to give way before an unquestioned 
difficulty, only to fall into another and a greater. 


Signal examples are the surrender of the Mosaic origin of the 
Levitical statutes, because they are not directly mentioned in the Books 
of Samuel; or the rejection of Deuteronomie institutes regarding 
priesthood and sacrifice, because they seem to have been occasionally 
ignored in the subsequent history». With any consideration of diffi- 
culties, due weight should be given to the positive evidence on the 
other side. 


3. Conjectural criticism is suspicious. Almost every- 
thing here depends on the insight and judgement of the 
individual critic®: and that these may often be at fault is 
proved by the diversity of the conclusions reached. Con- 
jecture is of little use, until verified by showing that the 
supposition meets all the facts of the case. 


A paragraph may here be quoted from Mr. E. H. Lecky, who 
approaches the subject from its literary side. ‘I may be pardoned for 
expressing my belief that this kind of investigation is often pursued 
with an exaggerated confidence. Plausible conjecture is too frequently 
mistaken for positive proof. Undue significance is attached to what 
may be mere casual coincidences, and a minuteness of accuracy is 
professed in discriminating between different elements in a narrative, 
which cannot be attained by mere internal evidence. In all writings, 
but especially in the writings of an age when criticism was unknown, 
there will be repetitions, contradictions, inconsistencies, diversities of 
style, which do not necessarily indicate different authorship or dates’ 
(The Forum, Feb. 1893, essay on ‘ The Art of Writing History,’ p. 718). 


4. Moral difficulties, although often disregarded in 


speculative criticism, are yet very real. 


* Introduction to the treatise by W. Moller, cited above. 

» Yet in both cases they are implied in many passages of the books. 
See Hiivernick’s Introduction to the Pentateuch, p. 376 (Clark's tr.); also 
Bishop Harold Browne in Speaker's Comm., who gives several instances 
in proof. 

© See an able pamphlet, How Two Documents may be found in One, by 
Dean Carmichuel, of Montreal (1895). 





a a 


UNITY 401 


Any hypothesis which attributes the origin of a book of 
Scripture to forgery or literary fraud destroys the value 
of that book to us. ‘The Spirit of Truth cannot take into 
His service literary fictions which trifle with the law and the 
sense of truth 2,’ 


5. Implicit Canons of criticism, i.e. such as are not 
_ openly expressed, but are tacitly or, it may be, unconsciously 
assumed, often vitiate the conclusion. 


In the case before us, many such postulates only too evidently 
underlie the reasoning. Thus, ‘The non-observance or non-mention 
of a law implies its non-existence.’ A critic would pause before 
openly stating this, but it is often silently taken for granted. Again, 
‘Miracles do not happen’ ; ‘The predictive element forms no part of 
prophecy.’ Such denials of the supernatural are not indeed as yet 
so common in Great Britain as in Germany and Holland ; but they lie 
at the root of much modern criticism. Happily, the old faith subsists 
for a while in many such critics, even when its historic foundations 
are removed. But how long will this endure? 


6. The real question.—‘ In conclusion, let it be distinctly 
stated that the true point in dispute is the supernatural 
origin of the Law. Under the disguise of a purely literary 
investigation, an attack is really made upon the Divine 
origin of the religious dispensation which was to be “a school- 
master to lead to Christ.” Our moral instincts rebel against 
accepting a book as Divine which is characterized by so-called 
“pious frauds.” If the name of Moses be used in the Law 
fictitiously, however high the motive, men feel that their 
belief in its inspiration would be imperilled. Unless Christ 
and His Apostles sanctioned untruth and imposture, we 
must believe that the Law came by Moses, and had its 
fulfilment in the grace and truth of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ, to whom the types and sacrifices, as well as the 
prophecies, naturally pointed’ (Dr. Alfred Cave; essay, 
When was the Pentateuch written? p. 24, R. T. S.). 


®* Canon Liddon, sermon on the Inspiration of Selection (1890). 


pd 


402 THE PENTATEUCH — 


Authenticity 


241. Truth of the record.—The evidence of the authen- 
ticity of the Pentateuch is no less decisive ; though, as many 
of the events are recorded only here, it is necessarily less 
comprehensive than similar evidence in the case of ordinary 
history. 

1. Several of the historical statements of the Pentateuch 
are confirmed by the traditions of ancient nations. 

References to Egyptian life.—These may be taken as 
an illustration of the ever-accumulating proof afforded from 
many quarters. Much of this evidence has been brought 
to light in our own days. It was formerly alleged, for 
example, that the following customs, or allusions, are 
Asiatic, and not Egyptian, or are later than the Exodus: 
building with bricks (Ex 1™); keeping asses—animals 
odious to the Egyptians; the presence of eunuchs, implied 
in the name given to the captain of the guard (Gen 37°); 
the freedom of domestic life implied in Gen 39; the use 
of wine, which Herodotus. says was not made in Egypt; of 
rings and other ornaments (414%); the appointment of 
stewards (43'°1° 441); the custom of sitting at table (43°). 
All, however, have been confirmed by the discovery of 
ancient Egyptian monuments. Bricks are still found with 
the names of the oldest Egyptian dynasties stamped upon 
them. To the art of wine-making Rosellini devotes a section 
of his work; and upon the very monuments whence his 
illustrations are taken appear eunuchs, stewards, ornaments, 
and entertainments, exhibiting habits of social intercourse 
and modes of sitting such as the Pentateuch implies. 

That the Egyptians shaved (Gen 41"), and carried burdens, 
not on the shoulder, but on the head (40°); that shepherds 
were treated with great contempt—the butts of Egyptian 
wit; that caste existed; that foreigners were naturalized 


. 
| 
: 


AUTHENTICITY 403 


by clothing them in the celebrated Egyptian linen (Gen 
41%), are facts confirmed by ancient sculptures, or expressly 
mentioned by Herodotus as peculiar to Egypt. 

It may be added, in the words of Mr. Reginald Stuart 
Poole, the eminent Egyptian archeologist, that the references 
to Egypt in Genesis and Exodus, ‘the chief cities of the 
frontier, the composition of the army, are true of the age 
of the Ramessides; they are not true of the age of the 
Pharaohs contemporary with Solomon and his successors.’ 
And, he pertinently asks, ‘If the Hebrew documents are of 
the close of the period of the kings of Judah, how is it that 
they are true of the earlier condition, not of that which was 
contemporary with those kings ?*’ 

2. Internal indications.—Independently, even, of ex- 
ternal evidence, the internal is itself decisive. The 
artlessness of the style, the frequent genealogies, the impar- 
’ tiality of the author in recording the faults of the Jews and 
his own », are all obvious. Add to this, that Judaism is 
founded upon the supposed truthfulness of these records. 
They give the history of Jewish institutions, and the reasons 
for the observance of them. If there be a forgery, when 
could it have been executed? Not when the LXX version 
was made (8.c. 275). Not on the return from Babylon 
(B.c. 536, Ezr 2”). Not on the division of the kingdom 
(B. c. 975). Not in the days of Samuel (B. c. 1095). Not in 
the four hundred years preceding. For at each successive 
era there were thousands interested in detecting the forgery, 
and in setting aside the burdensome and peculiar institutions 
founded upon it. To impose upon a whole nation is not 
easy, and to convince a people like the Jews that a law 
for the first time promulgated at any of these epochs was 
that under which their forefathers had lived for centuries 


® Contemporary Review, vol. xxxiv. p. 758 (March, 1879). 


> See history of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob; also Dt 26° Ex 2!* Num 
2010-18, 


Dd2 


404 THE PENTATEUCH 3 


would have been an impossible task. In fact, to suppose 
that any man could secure the observance of circumcision, 
of the Passover, of the Feast of Pentecost, or of Tabernacles, 
on the plea that these rules had been observed from the first, 
and for the reasons assigned, when it must have been known 
that this statement was untrue, is to suppose a greater miracle 
than any the record contains. And these institutions had 
their origin, it will be noticed, not in the ordinary eyents of 
the history, but in the miracles: so that by them not only 
the history, but each miracle, is confirmed ®*. 


3. Historical, archeological, and scientific confirma- 
tions.—The statements of the Pentateuch are confirmed, 
moreover, by the facts of history, ethnography, and geology, 
so far as these have been clearly ascertained. 


The Earth as the dwelling-place of man.—In opposition to legends 
ascribing a fabulous antiquity to the habitable earth, which have 
found an echo in some modern speculations, may be placed the well- 
sustained conclusion of eminent geologists that ‘the last great 
geological change,’ adapting the earth for its human inhabitants, 
was comparatively recent. Early history, especially of Egypt, requires 
considerable extension of the traditional period of six thousand years ; 
but the main conclusions fit in well with the records in Genesis. 


The rise of Empires.—The dynasties of Egypt, as given by Manetho 
and illustrated by the monuments, seem to require a date of com- 
mencement much earlier than the popular chronologies have assigned. 
Thus, the accession of Menes, founder of the first dynasty, is 
placed by Brugsch and Sayce at B.c. 4400, and by Flinders Petrie 
at about 4777. But these dates are by no means. final, as it is 
possible that some of these dynasties were contemporaneous, in different 
parts of the Nile Valley, rather than successive (Canon Rawlinson). 
The reign of Yaon, the first Chinese emperor mentioned by Confucius 
(B.c. 450), cannot be earlier than B.c. 2500°; nor is there any his- 
torical certainty till the year B.c. 782 (Klaproth). The celebrated 
chronology of India reaches no higher than B.c. 2256. Such is the 


* Dean Graves has expanded this argument with great force (Lectures 
on the Pentateuch, 1829, Lect. i, ii). 

» See his History of Egypt, vol. i (Sth ed., 1903). 

© The date usually given is B.c. 2356. 


AUTHENTICITY 405 


testimony of witnesses who have examined the most ancient chrono- 
logical systems avowedly without any leaning to the Pentateuch. 

Ethnography in its threefold division, philological, physiological, 
and ethical, is equally in favour of the Mosaie account. That the 
cradle of the human race was in western Asia; that mankind descended 
from one pair; that hwman speech was originally one, being afterwards 
‘confused’ and subdivided into many languages ; and that the main 
division of the human family was threefold, are all among the state- 
ments of Seripture which ethnological science tends to corroborate *. 
All known languages, it is admitted, are reducible to a few families, 
the Aryan, the Semitic, the Turanian, north and south, chiefly 
monosyllabic; the American, and the African. Bunsen traced the 
Egyptian, and several of the African dialects, to a Semitic origin. 
The American languages are proved to be chiefly Asiatic, and the 
ablest scholars find, among all, such affinities as bespeak original unity?. 
The words of Prof. Max Miiller, in contending for the original unity of 
languages, may here be quoted. He says: ‘I have been accused of 
having been biassed in my researches by an implicit belief in the 
common origin of mankind. I do not deny that I hold this belief; 
and, if it wanted confirmation, that confirmation has been supplied by 
Darwin's book on The Origin of Species... . Only, if I am told that ‘‘no 
quiet observer could ever have conceived the idea of deriving all 
mankind from one pair, unless the Mosaic records had taught it,” 
I must be allowed to say in reply, that this idea on the contrary 
is so natural, so consistent with all human laws of reasoning, that, 
so far as I know, there has been no nation upon earth which, if 
it possessed any traditions on the origin of mankind, did not derive 
the human race from one pair, if not from one person’ (Lectures on the 
Science of Language, Series i, Lect. 8). 

Philologically and physiologically, ‘the human race,’ says Herder, 
‘is a progressive whole, dependent upon a common origin.’ ‘With 
the increase of knowledge in every direction,’ is the last testimony of 
Dr. Prichard, ‘we find continually less and less reason for believing 
that the diversified races of men are separated from each other by 
insuperable barriers.’ 


The Synchronisms with Hebrew history in this early period are of 


@ See especially in ‘ By-Paths of Bible Knowledge’ (R. T.S.), Sayce, 
The Races of the Old Testament (1893). 

>’ Among men of science who have maintained the unity of the 
human race may be mentioned Linnzus, Buffon, Cuvier, J. G. St.- 
Hilaire, Rudolph and Andreas Wagner, A. von Humboldt, Klapreth, 
F. von Schlegel, Herder, Hugh Miller, Sir John Herschel, Sir C. 
Lyell. See F. R. Reusch, Nature and the Bible, ii. 188. 


" 


necessity few. There may be noted in Gen 14 the mention of Kham- 
murabi (‘Amraphel of Shinar’), founder of the Babylonian empire 
between B.c. 2250 and 2000; also of Arioch, King of Ellasar, shown 
to have been Eri-aku of Larsa (Schrader, Cuneiform Inscriplions). The 
references to the Hittites, the ‘children of Heth,’ remarkably fall in 
with what has of late been brought to light respecting that ‘ forgotten 
empire.’ And all through the patriarchal history, from Abraham to 
Joseph, there are indications obviously pointing to the contempora- 
neous sovereignty of the Hyksos in Egypt. ‘The substance and the 
historical pith of the oldest traditions of Israel fit most perfectly into 
the picture of the general history of the time, and are completely 
confirmed by it’ (C. H. Cornill of Kénigsberg, History of the People of 
Israel). 


406 THE PENTATEUCH 


The Separate Books: Genesis 


242. The First Book of the Pentateuch is named in 
Hebrew, from its initial word, Béréshith (M13), ‘In the 
beginning.’ The word Genesis is from the LXX, in Greek, 
‘ Origination.” The book is one of Origins, and may be 
divided into two parts: I. Outline of Primeval History 
until the designation, in the call of Abram the Chaldean, 
of the Chosen Race, 1-11. II. The Patriarchal Period ; 
connected with the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and 
Joseph, 12-50. There are in Genesis ten ‘Books of 
Generations ’ (toledoth, Hebrew for genealogies) which serve 
as waymarks in the several sections :— 

Division I. 1. The Heavens and the Earth (2', uniting 
the two narratives of the Creation, Delitzsch). 

2. Posterity of Seth (5) to the renovation of the human 
race in Noah. : 

3- Noah (6°), his sons the progenitors of the new race. 

4. The sons of Noah (10). Early tribes and empires. 

5. Shem (111°). First step in the selection of a people. 

6. Terah (11°"). Second step: Birth of ABRAHAM. 

Division II. 7. Ishmael (251%), the rejected line (Arabs). 

8. Isaac (25°), the chosen offspring. 


GENESIS 407 


9. Esau (36!-’), a second rejection (Edomites). 
10, Jacob (37), Israel: henceforth God’s People. 


The main purpose of the history is thus steadily kept in 
view, the narrative passing from the universal to the special; 
while secondary lines branch off from the main course. 


243. First Diviston.—Of Creation there are two accounts, 
the one ending with the institution of the Sabbath (2°), the 
other comprising the narrative of Eden and the Fall of 
Man. With the entrance of sin into the world is connected 
the promise of a Redeemer, a declaration containing the 
germ of all Messianic prophecy. In a measure it is fulfilled 
in every phase of the struggle between good and ill; but in 
Curist is its consummation. 


Note the twofold view of Creation. (1) The world is made. Heathen 
philosophers in general maintained the eternity of matter, even 
those who taught that God (or the gods) moulded it into various 
forms. The words ‘God created’ dispel such speculations. (2) It was 
made by God only, ‘ Elohim’ in the first account, ‘ Jehovah Elohim’ in 
the second. Thus is monotheism enstamped from the first upon the 
inspired record: in absolute distinction from monolatry (to use 
a modern word), which might denote the worship of one God without 
denying the possible existence of others. The revelation is based upon 
the truth that JEHoVAH IS THE ONLY Gop. 


The institution of Sacrifice is indicated, 42-7, The accept- 
ance of Abel’s offering foreshadows the truths afterwards 
wrought out in full detail, especially in the Epistle to the 
Hebrews. The appointment of sacrifice by God Himself is 
clearly suggested by 15°. (See below on ‘The Design of the 
Law,’ § 254 sq.) The history of Cain and his descendants in 
the land of Nod (Wandering), 41° 2, throws light on the 
origination of arts and crafts by man’s natural endeavour. 

The Deluge in its two interwoven accounts, 6!7-g!7, 
strikingly differs, in the absence ‘of mythological details, 
from the traditions of the same event preserved in the 
annals of Babylon and other nations. The characteristic 


408 THE PENTATEUCH 


teaching of the inspired narrative is God’s abhorrence of sin. 
Noah was eminently a ‘preacher of righteousness,’ 2 Pet 2°. 
Compare Heb 11’ 1 Pet 3”°. 

Babel, in Hebrew, is taken from a verb which means to 
confound, and thus gives a fresh meaning to the name chosen 
by the builders, Bab-il, ‘Gate of a god." On the origin of 
languages see § 241, and on the foundations of early empires, 
Part I, § 178 sq. 


244. Seconn Drivision.—Ur of the Chaldees, whence 
Abraham was called out of an idolatrous community 
(Jos 24”); on the lower Euphrates (Erech, 1o!°, now Mugheir). 
The opinion which placed it to the north, in the Edessa 
region (Ovfa), is now generally abandoned. In his wander- 
ings, Abraham would carry with him the knowledge of God 
and of the true faith. Many peoples have accordingly 
regarded him as the author of their religious traditions. 


The successive Covenants of Scripture are subjects of deep in- 
terest. The first was made with Adam, the second with Noah, 
and the third with Abraham. The one with Adam required obedi- 
ence, and denounced death—legal, spiritual, natural, and (without 
penitence) eternal—as the consequence of sin. The second was 
without conditions, and is fulfilled to this day, 97. The third also 
was without conditions, 12!-°-7 13-17 7517 2810-15 Ac 318-26 Ga] 3! 
Rom 4, though confirmed in consequence of Abraham's faith, 22°16 
26, This last covenant is called by the Apostle the covenant of 
promise in distinction from the Law, which is ealled the covenant 
of works. ‘The gospel is called, in distinction from both, truth and 
grace ; that is, salvation realized and founded, not on works, but on 
unmerited favour. That Abraham saw in the covenant made with 
him the promise of a coming Messiah is clear from the reasonings of 
both Peter and Paul, Ac 3°5*° Gal 3°. This promise was frequently 
repeated, and formed, with the significant truths to which it pointed, 
the foundation of justifying faith for many ages, The expectation 
of a coming Saviour founded upon it explains the value of the 
birthright (25°), the preservation of family records, and many of 
the institutes of patriarchal religion. 


On the remarkable episode recorded in ch. 14, see Part I, 
§178. This exploit of Khammurabiand his confederate chiefs 





GENESIS 409 


forms the earliest synchronism between sacred and 
secular history. It is connected with the appearance of the 
typical priest-king Melchizedek, see Ps 110* Heb 7. 

Isaac, who appears to have been of quiet disposition and 
distinguished character, forms a link between his illustrious 
father and his twin sons Jacob and Esau. These two, the 
child of nature and the child of grace, form in their earlier 
' career a most interesting and important study of character. 
Each has characteristic faults, but in the end Esau is 
mastered by them ; Jacob masters them, by Divine help, as 
shown at Bethel, in Paddan-aram, and at the brook Jabbok. 
So is he prepared for his career as the inheritor of the 
promises. 

From ch. 33!° onwards to the end of Genesis (with the 
exception of 36, which is wholly devoted to the successors of 
Esau, the Edomites) the history is occupied with the Family 
Records of Jacob—much diversified, often very melan- 
choly (34, 38)—and culminating in the wonderful, familiar 
story of Joseph, through whom the way into Egypt was 
prepared, so that this famous land became the ‘cradle of the 
Church.’ The favourable reception of the Palestinian 
shepherds was no doubt due to the occupancy of the 
Egyptian throne by the ‘ Hyksos’ (see Part I,§ 179). From 
Joseph’s wise administration during the famine he received 
the name of Zaphenath-paneah (411°; see R.V.), a Coptic 
compound variously interpreted: according to Jerome, 
‘Saviour of the world’; Gesenius, ‘Sustainer of the age’; 
Delitzsch, ‘Supporter of life.’ The great prophetic blessing 
of Jacob, his death, and that of Joseph close the book. 

“In the New Testament Joseph is only mentioned Heb 
1i7!-*, Yet the striking particulars of the persecution and 
sale by his brethren, his resisting temptation, his degradation 
and yet greater exaltation, the saving of his people by his 
hand, and the confounding of his enemies, seem to indicate 
that he was a type of our Lord’ (2. Stuart Poole). 


410 THE PENTATEUCH 


References in the New Testament to the Book of Genesis. , 


245. The following passages are cited with the usual formulas of 
quotation, as ‘It is written,’ ‘The Lord said,’ and the like :— 


Gen 177 Mt 194 Gen 211012 Gal 45° Heb 118 
a? Heb 4! 2216.17 Heb 613-14 
27 1 Cor 15% 22/617 Jas 2°5 
12° Ac 3” Gal 38 a5°5 Ro 9” 
17" Gal 316-19 a -; 


Incidents and personages in Genesis are frequently referred to, as— 
Gen 3*° Eve beguiled by the serpent, 2 Cor 11° 1 Tim 24, 
4 Abel’s sacrifice, Heb 114. 
5°4 Character and Translation of Enoch, Heb 115, 
1438-°9 Melchizedek, Heb 7 passim. 
19°46 Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lu 172? 2 Pet 2° 
22° Abraham’s offering of Isaac, Jas 24. 
25°% Esau’s sale of his birthright, Heb 12'®, 
47°! Jacob’s worship, leaning on his staff (or bed), Heb 1171 (see § 25). 
Add a whole series of references in Stephen's address to 
the Sanhedrin, Ac 7. 
The phrase ‘In the beginning’ (6) is echoed with a deeper meaning 
in Jn 1}, Man made in the likeness of God (5! 9°) isa truth recognized 
in 1 Cor 11‘ Eph 474 Col 3!° Jas 3°. The sanctity of the marriage relation 


is enforced from Gen 2 by our Lord, Mt 19°, and by Paul in 1 Cor 6% © 


Eph 5". The faith of Abraham (15°-°) is repeatedly used as a fore- 
shadowing of the Christian character, Ro 45 Gal 3° Jas 2°. ‘ Paradise’ 
carries the thought back to ‘the Garden,’ Gen 2°® Rey 27 22%", and 
Jacob’s ladder is taken as an expressive type, Gen 28% Jn 1°}. 

Many verbal accordances also show how this book was familiar to 
the inspired writers of the New Testament as authoritative and Divine. 


Exodus 


246. The word Exodus, from the Greek, signifies 
Departure (éfod0s). The name of the book in the Hebrew 
Bible is V’élleh shémoth (nov nN), ‘And these are the 
names,’ from its initial words. It may be divided into three 


* Here note the apostolic comment on ‘seed’; the noun of ‘ multi- 
tude’ interpreted as a personal name. ; 





EXODUS 411 


parts: I. The Oppression, II. The Deliverance, III. The 
Giving of the Law. 


I. The ‘ King which knew not Joseph’ was not merely 
another monarch, but the founder of another royal line. He 
may be identified with Ahmes, first king of the eighteenth 
dynasty, who overcame and expelled the Hyksos. But the 
eruel oppression of the Israelites dates from the nineteenth 
dynasty, under Ramses II, third monarch of this line, the 
Sesostris of the Greeks. His treasure-city at Pithom (11), 
Gr. Heroopolis, has been discovered in modern times*. The 
son and successor of Ramses was Meneptah II, who con- 
tinued the oppression, and under whom, it is believed, the 
Exodus took place. 


See Part I, §§ 179-181 for the witness of the monuments. A granite 
stele discovered by Prof. Flinders Petrie, 1896, commemorating the 
victories of Meneptah over Libyan invaders states that ‘ the Israelites 
are brought low so that they have no seed.’ This may fairly be under- 
stood of their having vanished into the desert, so as to be no longer 
counted among formidable foes. A statue of this Meneptah is in the 
British Museum. 


II. As a solemn preliminary to the series of acts which 
led to the great Deliverance, the God of Israel reveals His 
Name—known already to tiie Patriarchs, but now disclosed 
as that of the Covenant God, and henceforth to be held 
sacred in Israel beyond all other appellations of the Deity. 


The form JrHovaH has become so associated with our English speech 
that it seems advisable to adhere to its use. For its explanation, see 
Part I, § 115; also Handbook to the Hebrew of the Old Testament (R.T.S.), § 99. 
Scholars are mostly agreed that Jahveh, or Yahveh®, would more 
accurately represent the original pronunciation: but the question is 
one of yowels only, and immaterial to the sense. 


The Ten Plagues, which attested the Divine commission of Moses 
and Aaron, though in part connected with ordinary phenomena of 
Egyptian life, were specially significant as proving the power of God, 


"* See Part I, § 180. 
> The form Yahwe, as printed in some English books, is less suitable. 


412 THE PENTATEUCH 


and rebuking idolatry. 1. The Nile—blood; an object of worship 
turned into an object of abhorrence. 2. The sacred frog itself their 
plague. 3. Lice, which the Egyptians deemed so polluting that to 
enter a temple with them was a profanation, cover the country 
like dust. 4. The gadfly (Zebub), an object of Egyptian reverence, 
becomes their torture. 5. The cattle, which were objects of Egyptian 
worship, fall dead before their worshippers. 6. The ashes, which 
the priests scattered as signs of blessing, become boils. 7. Isis and 
Osiris, the deities of water and fire, are unable to protect Egypt, even 
at a season when storms and rain were unknown, from the fire and 
hail of God. 8. Isis and Serapis were supposed to protect the country 
from locusts. West winds might bring these enemies; but an east 
wind the Egyptian never feared, for the Red Sea defended him. 
But now Isis fails; and the very east wind he reverenced becomes 
his destruction. 9. The heavenly hosts, the objects of worship, are 
themselves shown to be under Divine control. tro, The last plague 
explains the whole. God’s firstborn Egypt had oppressed ; and now 
the firstborn of Egypt are all destroyed. The first two plagues, it 
will be noticed, were foretold by Moses, and imitated by the Egyptians, 
The rest they failed to copy, and confessed that they were Wrage, by 
the finger of God. 


The Passover was now instituted. For the laws of its 
observance, see § 259. On the eve of the departure from 
Egypt it was eaten in haste, with girded loins, as for 
a journey. Afterwards in Canaan the participants in the 
festival sat with robes ungirt and flowing, in an attitude of 
rest®. So significant in all points was the type. The Pass- 
over lamb was slain at the very hour when Christ expired : 
see 1 Cor 5’. 


The first day’s march, 12°7~*°>. From Rameses to 
Suecoth (booths, encampment) was a distance of 16 miles. 


* This is the Jewish tradition, well supported. 

> Beginning of the Itinerary. (1) Rameses toSuceoth. (2) Suceoth to 
Etham. (3) Etham to Pi-hahiroth (‘mouth of the passes’). (4) Three 
days’ march to Marah. (5) To Elim. (6) ‘ By the Red Sea.’ (7) 
The Wilderness of Zin (see § 172). (8) Dophkah. (9) Alush. (ro) 
Rephidim. (11) Sinai. Thus far the route can be distinctly traced on 
the map, or followed by the aid of a book like Palmer's Desert of the 
Exodus. 





EXODUS 413 


The next position, between Migdol (fortress-tower) and the 
sea (141), seemed to place the host at the mercy of the pur- 
suers, when the ‘strong east wind all the night’ miraculously 
drove back the waters (147!) and opened a way to the other 
side. The precise locality of this miracle is uncertain. 
Dr. Edouard Naville and other explorers assign it to the 
shallows now in part covered by the Bitter Lakes, formerly, 
as geologists attest, a part of the sea. The triumphal Song 
of Moses is taken as a type of that which shall celebrate the 
final victory of the redeemed, Rev 15°. 


III. The emancipated people, sustained by the manna 
and the water from the rock, reach the appointed place (3!°) 
in seven more marches. Here, amid the solitude, the Law 
of the Ten Words is given amid the awful manifestations 
of a present Deity. Sundry laws are given, chiefly judicial : 
_ the ‘Book of the Covenant’ is added ; and the promise given 

‘of the guiding Angel (237°-*3). A period of mysterious 
communion with Jehovah follows, in which the pattern of 
the tabernacle is shown to Moses in the mount (Heb 8°), 
‘a copy and a shadow of heavenly things.’ The solemnity 
of the scene is interrupted by the idolatry of the golden calf 
and the consequent punishment. God’s glory is revealed to 
Moses as a sign of His forgiving love (32, 33). The taber- 
nacle is now erected and consecrated; Aaron and his sons 
being sanctified for its service. 

The golden calf was avowedly prepared as a symbol of JEHovAg, 31°. 
It was not therefore the First Commandment, but the Second, that 
was violated. The whole transaction impressively showed to the 
people, not only that their God must be exclusively worshipped, but 


that He must not be worshipped under any such material symbol as 
they had been accustomed to see in Egypt. 


In reading the subsequent history, we must divest our- 
selves of the notion thatthe Israelites maintained a continuous 
march in one compact host, from place to place. Evidently 
they had long halts—continuing, it may. be, for years—in 


414 THE PENTATEUCH 


one and another oasis of the wilderness, and were often 
widely scattered. Not only had they animals for sacrifice, 
but they accumulated flocks and herds. The manna com- 
pensated them for the lack of corn harvests, and served their 
needs when other resources failed, as we may gather. from 
Ex 16% Jos 5. On Kadesh, their head quarters, see below 
§ 250. 


References to Exodus in the New Testament. 


247. Quotations generally with formula, ‘It is written,” &e. The — 
Ten Commandments, Ex 20 Mt 57)-*7-5° 15° 1918 Lu 1314 2358 Ro 2°2 77 
13° Eph 6*° Jas 21! : see also the following :— : 


Ex 3° Mt 22°? Mk 1276 Ex a1™ Mt 5** 
g'® Ro 9" 2238 Ac 235 
1246 Jn 19°6* 25° Ac 7** Heb 8° 
1618 2 Cor 8 32° 1 Cor 10° 
art Mt 15* Mk 7° 33"° Ro 9 


Passages referring to incidents and persons :— 
Ex 6° Deliverance from Egypt, Ac 13. 
19'*18 Israel before Sinai, Heb 12!*-7°. 
26°5 Construction of the tabernacle, Heb 9**. 
30°° The high priest in the Holy of Holies, Heb 9’. 
34°5 The veil on Moses’ face, 2 Cor 3%. 
See also the many references in Stephen’s address, Ac 7. 
Allusions and Parallels :—3'4, the Divine Name I am, Jn 88 Rey 1** 
1117 165, Compare also 4° with Mt 2; 81° with Lu 117° ‘the finger 
of God’; 12*° with Gal 3)7 ‘four hundred and thirty years’; 19%* 
with Tit 2! 1 Pet 259 Rev 1§ 5!° 20°; 24% with Mt 2675 Heb 9! ; 3718 
with 2 Cor 3°; 32°° ‘the book of the living’ with Lu ro” Phil 4* Heb 
1275 Rey 3° 2219, : 
There are also several verbal accordances, as in the case of Genesis. 


Leviticus 


248. This third Book of the Pentateuch takes its name 
in Greek from Levi. In Hebrew it is 83?" Vayyigra, ‘ And 
[He] called,’ from its first word. 


* One of several passages in this Gospel which connects the sacrifice 
of Christ with the Passover-type. 


LEVITICUS 415 


Ho.tness is the great key-word of the book. The people, 
the priests, the tabernacle, its vessels, the offerings, the 
very priests’ garments, are all described as ‘holy,’ i.e. 
separate, not only from sinful but from common use. See, 
among many passages, ch, 22-10 618.27 71.6.21 73.10.1217 yz3—49 
EAD 167, 

For a summary of the Levitical laws, see §§ 255-259 of 
the present chapter: and for a comparison with the second 
code, see note under Deuteronomy. 

The seventeenth to the twenty-sixth chapter inclusive 
forms a distinct section which, to mark its special character, 
has been entitled The Law of Holiness. 

The Epistle to the Hebrews gives the Christian interpre- 
tation of Leviticus. The Levitical priests ‘served the pattern 
and type of heavenly things’; ‘the sacrifices of the Law 
pointed to and found their interpretation in the Lamb of 
God, and the ordinances of outward purification signified the 
true inner cleansing of the heart and conscience from dead 
works to serve the living God ’ (Perowne). 

The ceremonial law contains rites closely resembling those 
in use among several heathen nations, but with striking 
differences. Among the older writers, some (as Warburton 
and Maimonides) held the former borrowed from the latter ; 
others (as Gale and Stillingfleet) thought that the latter 
borrowed from the former ; others still (as Calmet and Faber) 
maintained that both were taken from early patriarchal 
institutes, which the Gentiles had corrupted, and which God 
Himself re-ordained, to meet the peculiar condition of the 
Jews. This last theory, the most probable of the three, is 
confirmed by the fact that many primitive traditions are 
preserved in the systems, moral, religious, and philosophical, 
of several ancient nations. 


416 THE PENTATEUCH 


References to Leviticus in the New Testament. 


249. The characteristic phrase of this book, ‘ Holy, for I (Jehovah) 
am holy’ (1145 19? 207-6), is reproduced in 1 Pet 11* with the formula 
‘It is written.’ 

It is here also that the ‘royal law’ is given: 19'8 ‘Thou shalt love 
thy neighbour as thyself,’ cited Mt 19'% 228° Mk r2®! Lu 1077 Ro 13° 
Gal 514 Jas 28. 

Special allusions to sacrifices are to the ‘pair of turtledoves’ for 
purification, r2°* Lu 2°24; to the sin-offering of the bullock and the 
goat, 16'*27 Heb 9!*15 ro 1311-18; and to the sacrifices of thanksgiving 
or ‘ praise’), 7'° Heb 13”. 

In Leviticus also 26"-!? is the great promise of God to His people to 
set His tabernacle among them (ep. Eze 3777) Jn 1™* 2 Cor 6'* Rey 7% 
21° (see R.V. marg.). 


Numbers 


250. This fourth Book of the Pentateuch is called 
in Hebrew, most generally, 12722, Bémidhbar, ‘In the wilder- 
ness,’ from words in the first verse. The word Numbers, 
Greek dp6yoi, designates one of its main topics. 


Summary.—The book begins with a census of Israel (1, 2), then 
passes to the law regarding the Levites (3, 4). Sundry ceremonial 
institutes follow (5), particularly that concerning Nazirites (6). There 
is then a long account of offerings for the sanctuary made by the chief 
of the people (7). Next, the duties of Levites are enjoined (8), followed 
by a re-institution of the Passover (9'"). There is then a series of 
incidents connected with the early part of the journey ‘in the wilder- 
ness’ (9!-12!6), The story of the ‘spies’ is further given (13, 14°), 
with the doom of the forty years’ wandering, as the punishment of the 
people’s faithlessness. An abortive attempt to enter Canaan by force, 
as if in defiance of the Divine judgement, leads to humiliating disaster 
(14*°5). Various laws are then given : the sanctity of the Sabbath is 
vindicated by a solemn judgement (15). The attempted usurpation of 
priestly functions by Korah the Levite and his company, and the 
rebellion of certain Reubenites against the Divine appointment of 
Moses and Aaron, are signally and terribly punished (16). The budding 
of Aaron’s rod signifies his priestly commission from Jehovah (16), and 
sundry enactments, civil and religious (17-19), close this preliminary 





NUMBERS 417 


part of the narrative of the wandering. There is now a break in the 
history for thirty-eight years, noted only in the list of stations, ch. 33. 

Throughout the thirty-seven years’ wandering the head quarters 
of Israel were at Kanes, ‘the holy (place),’ probably from its being 
the locality of the tabernacle. No particulars of residence there 
are given, nor is the place decisively identified. In 32° 34* also 
it is called Kadesh-barnea. An earlier name for it (Gen 147) was 
En-mishpat, ‘Fountain of judgement,’ probably as the seat of some 
tribunal for the desert-dwellers : once also Rithmah, ‘ Broom-plant,’ 
from the vegetation in which it abounded (Num 33%; ef. 127° 137°). 
It was evidently a place of note, near some considerable spring of 
water (‘Meribah’ 27 Dt 32°! Eze 477°). Robinson and others have 
placed it at ‘Ain-el-Weibeh, near the Edomite border, but since the 
researches of H. C. Trumbull (1884) it is more generally thought to 
have been further west, where indeed the name survives, ‘Ain-el- 
Qadis, about fifty miles south of Beersheba. 


The final wandering.—The journal of the last six months in this 
most eventful year is clear and interesting. Aaron died on the first 
day of the fifth month (20) ; and in the eleventh month Moses began 
his series of valedictory addresses, Dt 1°. The journey down the 
. Arabah, thence to the east through the southern passes of Mount Seir, 
and turning to northward along the eastern Edomite frontier to the 
valley of Zered (about 220 miles), would occupy a month. It was the 
beginning of this journey that sorely tried the people, whose back for 
a time was to the Land of Promise. But the miracle of deliverance 
from the bite of the fiery serpents would reassure them ; they were 
enabled on their way to overcome ‘Sihon King of the Amorites and 
Og King cf Bashan’ (21) ; the thwarted counsels of Balak and Balaam 
showed that God was on their side (22-24). Yet they unhappily 
yielded to the seductions of Midian (25), and by the discipline of 
a brief and terrible conflict they won their way at last to the place 
where they were to receive their great Lawgiver’s farewell. 


251. References to Numbers in the New Testament. 


Num 127 Moses faithful in all his house, Heb 3°. 

1416 Slain (LXX ‘overthrown’) in the wilderness, 1 Cor 10° 
Heb 37". 

161° ‘ Jehovah will show who are His,’ 2 Tim 2". 

17° Aaron’s rod that budded, Heb 9+. 

1g'° Ordinance of the Red Heifer, Heb 9**. 

22° Balaam, son of Beor (or‘ Bosor’), 2 Pet 2'° Ju verse rr Rey 2%. 

24° Lign-aloes (LXX ‘tabernacles’) which Jehovah planted, 
Heb 8%, 


Ee 


418 THE PENTATEUCH 


The comparison ‘ to sheep having no shepherd ’ occurs first in Num 
27". Compare 1 Ki 22'7 (2 Ch 18") Eze 34" Zee 10%, and in the New 
Testament Mt 9% Mk 6%, 


Deuteronomy 


252. The name (derived from the Greek) of this final 
Book of the Pentateuch means ‘The Second Law’: in 
Hebrew it is called 0°70 nby, Elleh haddébharim, ‘These 
(are) the words.’ 

On the genuineness of this book see § 237, 7. It was from 
this part of the Old Testament that our Lord thrice quoted 
the words with which He answered the Tempter in the 
wilderness (Mt 4*:7-!° compared with Dt 8° 6'* 61°), 


Summary.—A comparison of this second code with the laws given 
nearly forty years before should be carefully made by the student. The 
results that such comparison will yield, if rightly estimated, will but con- 
firm the authenticity of both. Some passages that at first sight seem at 
variance may refer to different events; as the appointment of judges, 
115-18 compared with Ex 18 and Num tz. Ora different point of view 
is taken, as when in 1”? tlie people are said to have urged the mission 
of the spies, whereas in Num 13'~’ Jehovah is said to have given the 
command ; the request of the people being divinely granted, as in 
similar instances. 

Additions to the history require no explanation; as ‘wept before 
Jehovah’ 145, ‘threescore cities’ 3*, ‘what Amalek did unto thee’ 


asi? 18 


Very significant and important are occasional variations 
in the laws. Some enactments given for observance in the 
wilderness would not apply to life in Canaan. Compare, 
e.g., Lev 17°* with Dt 12’. In other cases it is less easy to 
account for the variations. 


Passover, Pentateuch, and Tabernacles.—The laws 
relating to the three great annual festivals are modified : 
compare 16'~!’ with Lev 23 and Num 28 29. In regard 
again to the offering of firstlings, to the position and support 


DEUTERONOMY 419 


of the Levites, the earlier and the later codes differ in some 
respects from each other. . But whatever the explanation of 
such differences, the hypothesis of a different authorship, 
at an interval of some hundreds of years, is both violent and 
unnecessary, while it raises greater difficulties than belong 
to the traditional view. 


Dt 18-19, This announcement of a future prophet is twice applied to 
Christ in the New Testament—by the Apostle Peter, and by the martyr 
Stephen, Ac 3”? 73’. There is also evidence that the words were 
regarded by the Jews as a prediction of the coming Messiah. See 
Jn 1905145 614 740 and compare 5*°-47._ No doubt the language of Moses 
had a general fulfilment in the raising up of a prophetical succession, 
culminating in the appearance and work of Jesus Christ, to Whom 
therefore it eminently refers. 


References to Deuteronomy in the New Testament. 


253. The quotations from this book are very numerous. Our Lord’s 
replies to the Tempter are all taken from it with the formula ‘Tt is 
written,’ as noted above. 


Other important passages are as follows :— 


Dt 1! ‘Bare thee as a son,’ Ac 1318, var. read. see R. V. marg. 
4°4 Jehovah a consuming fire, Heb 127°. 
6'® “Hear, O Israel,’ Mt 2257-38 Lu 1077, 
10 ‘Which regardeth not persons,’ Ac ro*# Ro 2! Gal 2° Eph 6° 
Col 3” 1 Pet 117, 
18’ The prophet like unto Moses. See note above. 
3go-™4 The commandment not far off, Ro 1o%~8, 
31° 8 ‘He will not fail thee nor forsake thee’ (Jos 15) Heb 13°. 


Compare also 4°° with Mk 12°?; 17° and 19° with Mt 18" 2 Cor 13! 
and Heb 10% ; 217° with Gal 3% ; 241 with Mt 5%! 197 ; 254 with 1 Coro? 
1 Tim 538; 277° with Gal 31°; 29 with Ro 11°; 29!8 with Heb rel; 
30° with Mt 24°! ; 32°7 with x Cor 107°; 32?! with Ro 10! r Cor 10”? ; 
32536 with Heb ro®® ; 3243 (LXX) with Heb 1° Ro 15!9, 

The number and character of these quotations attest the honour 
in which this book was held by our Lord and the New Testament 
writers, 





420 THE PENTATEUCH 


Design of the Law—Summary of its Religious 
Institutions 


254. Hypothetical methods of Revelation.—W hat, it 
may now be asked, was the purpose of this ancient dispensa- 
tion, and to what end must we study it? Faith and piety 
existed before it was given. Faith and piety remain, now 
that it is done away. As an institute, it was confessedly 
burdensome; and if its aim had heen simply to regulate the 
worship of God, to give a figurative representation of the 
gospel, or to separate the Jews from other nations, this aim 
might have been reached by less elaborate means. Might 
not some points, moreover, not foreibly impressed upon 
the ancient Jews, have been more clearly revealed—the 
spirituality, for example, of the coming dispensation, and 
the glories of eternal life? In reply to these questions, let 
it be remembered that man has a strong tendency to forget 
God. Virtue, truth, godliness, submission to the Divine will, 
conformity to the Divine law, supreme desire for the Divine 
glory, are things not only nof natural—they are things to 
which man is directly opposed. Without successive revela- 
tions, or some such gradual provision as the Old Testament 
intimates, the feelings which these terms describe, and the - 
truths on which they are founded, must long since have 
perished from the earth. This conclusion is gained by an 
induction of particulars as sound as any in science. 

Ends in view.—Let it, again, be supposed that God has 
to deal with men who are ever prone to idolatry and bar- 
barism, in a condition of intellectual childhood, with no 
relish for blessings purely spiritual, and so earthly as to 
be incapable of comprehending them ;—that He desires to 
impress the minds of such a race with His own infinite 
perfections, and induce them to worship Him with becoming 
reverence; to prove to them what is in their heart, and so 


DESIGN OF THE LAW 421 


humble them for their depravity ; to lead them to acknow- 
ledge Him in all their ways, that they may fear His power 
and trust His love; to raise their confidence towards the 
God of their fathers, their covenant-God ; to incline their 
hearts towards His holy place, and the privilege of com- 
munion with Him ;—suppose that He wishes to distinguish 
them as His peculiar people (that is, both purchased and 
separate); to prevent needless intercourse with their idola- 
trous neighbours ; to unite all classes of Israelites as one 
body, under one king; to teach them to love one another as 
brethren; to check the tendency, apparent in all communities, 
to the accumulation of extreme wealth in the hands of a few, 
and to the oppression that springs from such accumulation ; 
to induce honest industry among the people; to give every 
man the conviction that he has a name and a place in his 
country ; to secure competent provision for the fatherless 
- and the widow ; to provide rest and moral training for all 
servants; to connect the maintenance of the learned and 
priestly class, in part at least, with the obedience and piety 


__ of the people, thus stimulating them to diligence in teaching 


the Law ;—suppose that He seeks to reveal Himself with new 
claims ; to preserve the memory of what He had done for 
them as a nation; to teach them implicit obedience; to 
excite thoughts and feelings in harmony with the office, 
and work, and reign of that Messiah Whom these various 
institutions were to introduce ;—and suppose, lastly, that 
owing to man’s guilty depravity, and the powerlessness of 
ritual observance to cleanse him spiritually from sin, these 
precepts and rites could not, by themselves alone, secure more 
than legal forgiveness, or attain, in any sense, eternal life ;— 
admit that these suppositions describe the end of the Law. 
and its adaptation to its end will at once appear. 


Varied applications of the Law.—Now, these suppo- 
sitions really do describe its end, though they may be stated 


ee en 
422 THE PENTATEUCH om 


variously. Is the Law a moral code? It teaches us our 
duty both to man and to God. Is it ritual observance ? 
It teaches us our faults, and God’s holiness, pointing, more- 
over, to the cross. Is it a civil institute? It regulates 
the worship of an invisible King, preserves the Jews as 
a peculiar people, and enforces brotherly love. Regarded 
as a revelation of truth (objective religion), all its parts are 
instructive. Regarded as a shadow of truth afterwards to 
be revealed, it excites and deepens holy feeling (subjective 
religion). Regarded chiefly as a treasury of earlier traditional 
knowledge, that knowledge it preserves, adding much of its 
own in order to preserve it; though, of course, a spiritual 
perception of its truths is still, as before, essential to salvation. 
However the end of the Law be defined, the chief facts remain. 
It reveals man’s sin, God’s holiness and love, forgiveness 
through sacrifice, and sanctification as its result, Christ’s 
work and reign; while it provides for the preservation of 
these truths in a world ever prone to forget what is spiritual, 
and deteriorate what is holy. The whole institute is at once 
a gospel and a church. It preserved and guarded piety, 
union, and happiness; is every way worthy of its Author, 
and entitled to the commendations which pious Jews have 
bestowed upon it in every age (Pss 19, 119). 


255. Theocracy: the Sanctuary.—In theory, the Jewish 
constitution was a Theocracy, a visible representation of the 
reign of God. Jehovah Himself was regarded as King; the 
laws were delivered by Him; the tabernacle (and afterwards 
the Temple) was considered as His palace; there He gave 
visible manifestations of His glory; there He revealed His 
will; there was offered ‘the bread of the presence’; there 
He received His ministers, and performed His functions as 
Sovereign. Hence it is that the land of Palestine is ever 
represented as held by direct tenure from Jehovah (Ley 25~). 
To Him, peace and war, questions determined under all 


DESIGN OF THE LAW © 423 


governments by the supreme authority, were referred (Dt 
14142 Jos ro* Judg 1!” 1 Ki 12%) ; and idolatry was treason. 
In relation, therefore, to the Jews, Jehovah was both God and 
King, 

This twofold character was preserved in all the arrange- 
ments of the ancient Law. 


The Tabernacle, where public worship was held from the Exodus 
' till the reign of Solomon, was both the temple of God and the 
palace of the invisible King. It was His ‘holy habitation.’ It was 
the place where He met the people and communed with them—‘ the 
tabernacle,’ therefore, ‘of the congregation.’ It was an oblong, 
rectangular erection, 55 feet by 18 feet, built of planks of the acacia, 
overlaid with gold, united by poles of gold, and resting on bases of 
silver ; the whole shielded by four costly coverings (Ex 26'"4). The 
eastern end was not boarded, but was closed by a curtain of cotton, 
suspended from silver rods, that were sustained by five pillars covered 
with gold. The interior was divided into two parts by a curtain or 
veil made of rich stuff, and curiously embroidered with figures of 
cherubim and other ornaments (Ex 26°*37), The first apartment was 
the Holy Place (Heb 97); the inner and smaller one, the ‘Holy of 
Holies.’ Here was the Ark of the Covenant, an oblong chest of wood, 
covered with gold, and surmounted by two golden figures of cherubim 
with outstretched wings. Above them was ‘the Glory,’ the symbol 
of the Divine presence. It rested between them, and came down to 
the lid of the ark—‘the Mercy-seat.’ In or near the ark were the 
tables of stone, the book of the Law, a pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod 
(Ex 257! Dt 3176 Heb 9%). In the first or anteroom were placed the 
golden altar of incense (Ex 30!-!°), the seven-branched golden candle- 
stick or lamp (Ex 258!-%*), and the table of wood, overlaid with gold, 
where the shewbread and wine were placed (Ex 2578-*°), 

Around the tabernacle was an extensive court, about 180 feet by go, 
formed by curtains of linen, suspended by silver hooks from rods of 
silver, which reached from one column to another. These columns 
were twenty in all, of acacia, probably supported on bases of brass, 
and eight or nine feet (five cubits) high. The entrance was on the 
east side, and was closed by falling tapestry, adorned with figures 
in blue, purple, and scarlet (Ex 27°-%). In this court, which was 
open at the top, all the public services of religion were performed, 
and all sacrifices presentcd. Near the centre was the great brazen 
altar (five cubits square and three high), with prominences at 
the corners called ‘horns’ (Ex 27!—® Ps 1187). On the south side 
there was an ascent to it made of earth (Ex 2074), The various 


424 THE PENTATEUCH 


instruments of this altar were of brass, as those of the altar of incense 
were of gold (Ex 273 38° 25°!-*°). In the court of the tabernacle, 
between the brazen altar and the tabernacle, stood the brazen laver, 
at which the priests performed their ablutions before approaching 
the altar (Ex 30%—*1), On the altar a fire burnt continually, at first 
miraculously kindled, and afterwards kept in by the priests (Lev 9** 
6" 10). 

The Temple. The Temple of Solomon was built after the same 
plan, and contained the same furniture ; but it was much larger, and 
the materials were more costly and durable. Instead of one court 
there were three, the innermost corresponding to the court of the 
tabernacle. The curtains were supplied by walls and colonnades ; 
the brazen laver being represented by the brazen sea (1 Ki 7%) and 
ten smaller vessels (1 Ki 7?’—%). The greater grandeur of the Temple 
service was in harmony both with the extended power of the nation 
and with the clearer revelation which was then given of God's 
kingly authority. 

Synagogues. Toa much later date belong the synagogues of the 
Jews. They were plain and unpretentious buildings, in which the 
Jews met to offer prayers, to hear Moses and the Prophets read, and 
to receive instruction. They are often mentioned in the New 
Testament, and seem to have sprung up after the Captivity. 


256. The Priesthood.—As the tabernacle was both the 
temple of God and the palace of the Great King, so the 
Levites were both priests and officers of state. 


Under the Law, the high priesthood was confined to the family of 
Aaron, and during the purest age of that economy to the firstborn 
of that house; Nadab, however, his eldest son, perished by his 
impiety during the high priesthood of his father, so that Eleazar 
succeeded Aaron, and from him the office passed in succession to 
Eli. From him it was transferred to the family of Ithamar (Aaron's 
fourth son); but in the days of Solomon it returned to the family of 
Eleazar, where it remained till the Captivity. During the Hasmonman 
dynasty a private Levite family held it, and towards the close of the 
Hebrew polity the right of succession was wholly disregarded. 

Aaron was consecrated by Moses, and his sons were priests under 
him. Into the inner chamber of the tabernacle the high-priest 
alone entered, once a year, on the Day of Atonement. 

In the reign of David the descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar 
were so numerous that they could not all be employed at the same 
time in their sacred duties ; they were, therefore, divided into twenty- 
four courses, each serving in weekly rotation twice in the lunar year 


» Bit 
i Kose 


INSTITUTIONS OF THE LAW 425 


(x Ch 24). Each course had its head or chief, and these are probably 
the ‘chief priests’ so often referred to in the Gospels. They had the 
whole care of the sacrifices and religious services of the Temple, 
most of the important functions of their office being assigned to 
each by lot. 

Levites. All the priests were Levites, that is, descendants of 
Levi, through Kohath and Aaron. Levi, however, had other sons, 
whose descendants were devoted to public business, They assisted 
the priests, formed the guard of the tabernacle, and conveyed it from 
place to place (Num 4°°**° . In David’s time the whole body was 
divided into three classes, each of which was subdivided into twenty- 
four courses. The first class attended upon the priests; the second 
formed the choir of singers in the Temple, and the third acted as 
porters and guards (1 Ch 24-26) in the Temple and at the gates. 

It seems probable that the Levites all acted, when not engaged 
in the Temple service, as instructors of the people ; they formed, in 
fact, the learned class. 

For the support of this large body of men forty-eigkt cities, with 
a belt of land round each, were assigned : a tenth of all the produce 
and cattle of the country (Ley 275° Num 35!—), of which tenth the 


_. priests had a tenth: all shared also in another tenth of the produce, 


which the people generally were to expend in feast-offerings, to which 
the Levites were to be invited (Dt 14°°-*’). 

Priestly Costume. When not engaged in their sacerdotal duties, 
the priests dressed as other men ; but when so engaged, their tunics, 
girdles, turbans, &c., were all of white linen (Ex 3977—**)._ The dress 
of the high-priest was both splendid and significant. Over his white 
tunic he wore a woollen robe of blue, having on its hem small golden 
bells (Ex 285-4), Over this was a short sleeveless garment—an 
‘ephod’ of fine linen, inwrought with gold and purple, and having 
on each shoulder-strap a precious stone, the whole engraven with the 
names of the tribes (Ex 28*—'*), In front was the breast-plate of judge- 
ment, similarly adorned, each stone similarly engraven (Ex 28%°"!). On 
his head was a kind of mitre, to the front of which was fastened a 
plate of gold, inscribed ‘Holiness unto the Lord.’ Connected with 
the breast-plate was the Urim and Thummin, ‘light and truth,’ by 
which the priest was enabled to ascertain the will of the invisible 
King. How the response was given is not clearly known. 

To their office all the priests were consecrated with a ‘holy 
anointing,’ and the spiritual significance of the whole institute is 
plain. 


257. Sacrifices.— Among the Jews, as among all ancient 
nations, sacrifices formed the most essential part of religious 


426 THE PENTATEUCH 


worship. The subject, therefore, is of great importance, 
and as the laws in relation to it are scattered over the 
various books of the Pentateuch, we give the substance of 
them in a connected form. 


Their Material. (1) The things offered (0°27), gorbanim, offerings, 
from a word signifying to draw neur: see Mk 7") were taken from 
both the vegetable and the animal kingdom, those from the former called 
the bloodless offerings (NiN2D, minchoth, gifts), and those from the 
latter the bloody (D'3}, 2%bhdchim, slain sacrifices). With both, the 
mineral salt, an emblem of purity, was used. 

From the vegetable kingdom were taken the meal-offerings® (flour, 
cakes, parched corn, frankincense) and the drink-offerings, or liba- 
tions (JD), nések, orovin, Phil 2'7), of wine, either in its natural or 
fermented state. Both offerings were usually united, and were con- 
sidered as an addition to the thank-offerings made by fire (Num 
15511 287-15 Ley 141-21), 

The animals offered were oxen, goats, and sheep; all were to be 
without blemish, not under eight days old, nor over three years», 
Doves were also offered in some cases (Ex 227° 12° Ley 57 9%). Fishes 
were never offered, and human sacrifices were expressly forbidden 
(Lev 18?! 20°5), 


Their Place. (2) Offerings were presented only in the front court of 
the sanctuary, the tabernacle, that is, and afterwards the Temple 
(Lev 17'—* Dt 125-7). Occasionally, however, sacrifices were offered 
elsewhere, without reprehension (Judg 2° 626 131° r Sa 7}7 9! 1118 
16° 1 Ki 18°82) ; while the people evinced a frequent disposition to 
sacrifice on the ‘high places ’—natural altars, to which they.had re- 
course before the existence of a permanent sanctuary (1 Ki 3”), and 
afterwards in a schismatic spirit (1 Ki 12°! 2 Ch 33", &e.). 

For certain sacrifices there were prescribed times and seasons ; 
others were left to the free will of the worshipper. 


Their Method. (3) In the performance of the sacrifice, the offerer, 
himself legally purified (Ex 19'* 1 Sa 165), brought the victim to 
the altar, and turning towards the sanctuary (Ley 3! 17%), laid his 


* ‘Meat’ in Old English is food generally. So A.V. The ‘ meat- 
offerings’ A. V., ‘ meal-offerings’ R.V., were distinct from offerings 
of flesh. 

> There is an exception, Judg 67°, ‘the bullock of seven years old,’ 
But the meaning of the passage is doubiful. 





a 


INSTITUTIONS OF THE LAW 427 


hand upon its head (Ley 14 3? 4°), thus identifying it with himself, 
and dedicating it to the purpose of atonement through sacrifice. He 
then slew it (Lev 15), an act, however, which the priest might do, 
and sometimes did (2 Ch 29” Ezr 67°), As the victim was slain the 
priest received the blood, and sprinkled or poured it near the different 
offerings, yet apart from them. The victim was cut in pieces by the 
offerer (Lev 1°), and the fat was burnt by the priest. In some sacri- 
fices, before or after the slaying, the victim was heaved or lifted up, 
and waved towards heaven, a symbol of its presentation to Jehovah. 


258. Kinds of Sacrifice.—There were various kinds of 
sacrifice, distinguished from one another in their main idea 
and purpose; while all, by the shedding of blood (Lev 171! 
Heb 9”), signified the dedication of the life to God. The three 
great divisions of altar-offerings thus expressed (1) propitiation 
(sin- and trespass-offerings), (2) consecration (the burnt-offer- 
ing), and (3) communion (peace- and eucharistic offerings). 


Sin- and Trespass-offerings. In the sin- and trespass-offerings, 
i nNwn, chash@ th, and Ove, ‘asham, the fundamental idea, symbolized by 


the sprinkling of the blood, generally upon the horns of the altar, 
was that of propitiation, or satisfaction for guilt. The two classes are 
not easily distinguished. ‘The trespass-offering, it has been thought, 
was generally presented for a sin of omission, the sin-offering for 
one of commission ; but this distinction cannot be maintained through- 
out, Ley 517— Num 61! Lev 152"89 &e. A more satisfactory explanation 
of the difference is, that the trespass-offerings ‘were presented in 
atonement for sins against God or against man which admitted of 
compensation.’ The sin-offering was for ‘the expiation of sin by a 
substituted life*.’ In fact, the two are distinguished in Scripture, and 
the eases are prescribed in which each is to be offered. 
Trespass-offerings are enjoined in Lev 7'—!, and also in Num 6!”, see 
verse 14, Lev 141”, see verse 19, Lev 19?°—?? Ezr 10!%. The victims offered 
were a ewe or she-goat, doves or fine flour, a ram or lamb, according 
to the nature of the case. Sin-offerings were presented by the high- 
priest when he had committed an offence and brought guilt upon the 
nation, or when the whole nation had sinned inadvertently ; also by 
individuals ‘who had sinned through ignorance’ (Ley 432—*°) ; and, 
more especially, on the great Day of Atonement. In the first and 


® Cave, The Scriptural Doctrine of Sacrifice, p. tog. It is remarkable 
that the word used Is 53!° is ’adsham. 


428 THE PENTATEUCH 


last cases the high-priest laid his hand on the head of the victim, 
confessing his sin. In the second case the elders laid their hand on 
the victim, and in the third case, on the person who brought the 
offering. The transactions of the great Day of Atonement were 
exceedingly significant : see Num 29’—" Lev 16°°-**-82; the goat for 
azazel, ‘entire dismissal", carrying away the sins of the people, and 
forming, with the second goat, which was sacrificed, a single complete 
type of the work of our Lord, Sin-offerings were also presented on 
various oceasions of purification (Levy 157:!41525-8° Num 6°)? Ley 
141931 922), 

The great idea in all these offerings was that the life of the 
victim was accepted for the life of the offerer (Ley 5'* 14"). The 
‘fat’ or choicest portions of the victim, consumed by fire, as well as 
the blood sprinkled, either on the horns of the great altar, or in the 
Holy Place towards the veil, indicated surrender; while on the Day 
of Atonement this was more impressively symbolized by thesprinkling 
of the blood before the mercy-seat. The unconsumed part of the 
animal victim, excepting where the blood had been carried into the 
Holy Place, formed a repast for the priests and their sons. See 
Heb 13111, : 


The Burnt-offering, holocaust indy, ‘olah, literally ‘that which 
ascends,’ i.e. to Jehovah), consisted in the immolation of a male 
victim, which was entirely consumed in the fire. The sacrifice was 
slain on the north of the altar, deprived of the skin (which belonged 
to the priest, Lev 7°), and then cut in pieces by the offerer. The 
blood was sprinkled around the altar, and the parts of the victim 
were laid separately upon the fire, which the priests kept always 
burning. 

The main idea in the burnt-offering was that of entire consecration, 
symbolized by the burning of the whole animal uponthe altar. Hence 
the daily presentation of this sacrifice (morning and evening)—a con- 
stantly renewed act, on behalf of the people, of self-dedication to 
God; while the thought of propitiation was still present. Besides 
the daily offerings, burnt-offerings were brought on the Day of 
Atonement (Lev 16°), and on the three great festivals ; in every case, 
after the sin-offering (consecration as the sequel to pardon). They 
were also presented by private persons Levitically unclean, viz. by 
women (Lev 12%-§); by lepers (Lev 147-*!); by Nazirites (Num 


* Such seems the only satisfactory explanation of the Hebrew word 
(derived from a root meaning to send away, Gesenius). Many modern 
expositors, however, regard it as a proper name, Azazel, a demon 
dwelling in the wilderness, to whom the goat was sent (Satan, as 
Hengstenberg and others), 





oS 


a a 


INSTITUTIONS OF THE LAW 429 


611-14) ;_ and by those referred to in Levy 151-1. When two doves 
were offered, one of them was made a burnt-offering (Lev 5!°). Heca- 
tombs of such offerings were sometimes presented (1 Ch 29?! Ezr 617). 

The Thank-offering (Ain, lodhah) or Peace-offering (nDy, shelem) 
consisted of the presentation of a bullock, sheep, or goat. It was brought 
by the offerer, with laying on of hands, and was slain by him on the 
south side of the altar. The blood was sprinkled round the altar; the 
fat was burnt. The ‘heaved’ breast and ‘waved’ shoulder belonged 
to the priest, and the rest was used as a sacrificial feast (see 1 Cor 10!8). 
' Thank-offerings for particular blessings were called ‘sacrifices of 
praise’ (comp. Heb 131°). Being mainly personal, and presented from 
a feeling of pious devotedness, they were called, in an especial sense, 
free-will offerings. Sometimes they were offered in fulfilment of a 
vow (Num 6!4""), The thought of joyful communion with God was 
expressively symbolized by the feast which followed the sacrifice, and 
of which the offerer, with his friends and the priests, partook. Jehovah 
Himself was regarded as present, and the act was one of communion 
with Him. ‘The peace-offering, therefore, stood in most significant 
relationship to the preceding offerings. The sin-offering, with the 
trespass-offering, which were closely related, came first, making 
expiation for sin; the burnt-offering followed, for when sin is atoned, 
the way is opened for self-consecration to God: and that is rightly 
and beautifully followed by sacrifices of peace and joy ; giving expres- 
sion at once to the feelings experienced and to the peace of God which 
exists’ (Dr. W. L. Alexander). See Lev 8 for detailed illustration in 
the designation-service of Aaron and his sons. 

The Minchah, or Meal-offering, with the Nesek, or Drink-offering 
(see § 257), was either a subsidiary accompaniment to the sacrifices 
above described, or in special cases (Lev 511“) might be accepted in 
their stead. 

The variety of other gifts brought for the service of the sanctuary, 
as food, incense, money, &c., was very great. These were all recognized 
by the common name of ‘Corban,’ and alike regarded as offerings 
to Jehovah. 


259. Festivals.—The festivals of the Jews were held 
weekly, monthly, and yearly. Each seventh and fiftieth 
year, moreover, was kept with peculiar solemnities. 

The weekly festival was the Sabbath, a day consecrated to rest and 
cheerful devotion (Ps 6875-*7, &e.). On this day additional sacrifices 
were presented (Lev 248 Num 28°). Children were instructed ; and 


those who were not far distant visited the Temple. Later than the 
days of the Pentateuch, the people seem to have visited the prophets 


430 THE PENTATEUCH ~ 

(2 Ki 4%°); and after the Captivity synagogues were erected in many of 
the towns of Palestine, where the ‘Law and the Prophets’ were read 
and expounded (Ac 13"). 

The monthly festival was held on the day of the New Moon, and 
was announced by the sound of silver trumpets (Num 10"), Labour 
was not interdicted, but additional sacrifices were offered. The new 
moon of the seventh month (Tisri, or Oct.) commenced the civil year, 
and was celebrated as the Feast of Trumpets: the Jewish ‘ New Year’s 
Day’ (Lev 23%5-*5). It was ‘a solemn rest,’ in anticipation of the Day 
of Atonement nine days afterwards. For the special New Year's 
service and offerings see Num 29!~*. 


Annual Festivals: their threefold meaning.— The 
great annual festivals prescribed by the Law were three ; and 
when they were celebrated, all the adult males in Israel 
were required to appear at the sanctuary (Ex 23%"), They 
were all intended to be seasons of joyous thanksgiving, and 
were commemorative of the kindness and fayour of God. 
Besides this general purpose, they corresponded with the 
seasons of the year in a manner suitable to the needs of an 
agricultural community ; they also kept alive the memory 
of great national events; and with no uncertain meaning 
they prefigured the blessings of the gospel. In studying 
the history of these feasts this threefold significance should 
be carefully borne in mind. 


The Passover was kept in remembrance of the destruction of the 
first-born of the Egyptians, the sparing of the Israelites, and their 
departure from Egypt. It began on the eve of the 14th of ‘Abib, 
i.e. all leaven was removed from the house on the r4th day, between 
the evenings, the Feast ‘of Unleavened Bread’ being reckoned from 
the 15th to the 21st. Between the evenings the Paschal lamb (a ram 
or a goat of a year old, Ex 12'~*) was slain before the altar (Dt 16*-*), 
The blood was sprinkled (originally on the door-posts, and later at 
the bottom of the altar) ; the lamb itself was roasted whole, with two 
spits thrust transversely through it, and was then eaten with bitter 
herbs; unleavened bread was broken by the master of the family and 
distributed to each, not fewer than ten nor more than twenty being 
admitted to the feast. After the third cup (the ‘cup of blessing’) 
had been drunk, praises were sung—generally, in later times, Pss rr5- 
118; and sometimes, in addition, Pss 120-137. It was in connexion 


Ee 





INSTITUTIONS OF THE LAW 431 


with this feast, and towards its close, that our Lord instituted the 
Last Supper (Mt26 Mk 14 1 Corro). During every day of the festival 
additional sacrifices were offered ; and on the 16th of Abib the first ripe 
ears of corn were presented at the sanctuary, and then the harvest 
commenced (Ex 12!-27 Levy 23°14). 

The fiftieth day after the second day of the Passover (the 16th), 
came the Feast of Pentecost, called also the Feast of Weeks (i. e. seven 
clear weeks from the 16th of Abib). This was properly the feast of the 
‘completed harvest of the ground. Unlike the two other great festivals, 
it oceupied but one day. Loaves made of the new meal and grain 
were offered as firstfruits (Lev 2317). Many burnt-offerings were now 
presented (Lev 2318 °) ; and Jews residing out of Palestine generally 
chose this oceasion for visiting Jerusalem. The later Jews associated 
this feast with the giving of the Law on Sinai, on the fiftieth day of 
the departure from Egypt. The Pentecostal effusion of the Spirit, 
and the gathering of the firstfruits of the Church, were thus happily 
symbolized. 

In autumn, from the 15th to the 21st of Tisri (October), the Feast of 
Tabernacles was celebrated, the 21st, or according to some the 22nd, 
an additional or eighth day, being the chief day of the feast (Lev 
234 Ne 818 Ju 7°”). Itcommemorated the sojourning of the Israelites 
in the wilderness, and was the Feast of the Ingathering of Fruits. 
Booths were constructed of branches of trees in all parts of the city, 
and here the people resided for the week. This feast was the most 
joyous of all; it was called ‘the Great Hosanna’: and more public 
sacrifices were offered than at any other (Num 29'*-*’), To the 
ordinary legal services of this festival later Jews added others. Water 
was drawn daily from the Puol of Siloam, carried with great pomp to the 
Temple, and poured before the altar (sce Is r2*). Priests also ascended 
the steps which separated the Court of the Women from the inner 
court, singing the Psalms of Degrees, Pss 120-134. These customs 
illustrate the special appropriateness of our Lord’s words (Jn 7°"), and 
indicate the spiritual application of the prophecy in Zec 141°, 

There were also two annual feasts, though not appointed by law, 
which require notice, as they are often mentioned in Jewish history. 
The first is the Feast of Purim (i.e. lots). It falls on the 14th or 15th 
of Adar (March), and commemorates the defeat of Haman’s plot for 
the destruction of the Jews (Est 37 9°). It is also called Mordecai’s 
day (2 Mae 15°°).. The other is the Feast of Dedication, appointed to 
celebrate the re-establishment of Divine worship in Jerusalem after 
Antiochus Epiphanes had been vanquished and the Temple purified, 
B.c. 164 (Jn 107”). It was observed for eight days from the 25th of 
Chisleu (December), and was sometimes called the Feast of Lights, from 
the illumination in which, at that season, the Jews indulged. 


432 THE PENTATEUCH ; 


Fasts: the Day of Atonement.—The fifth day before — 


the Feast of Tabernacles, the roth of Tisri (October), was 
the great Day of Atonement ; the only fast appointed by the 
Law (Lev 23?7-* Nu 297 Ac 27°). The people then be- 
wailed the sins of the year, and ceremonial expiation was 
made by the high-priest, who on that day alone entered into 
the Holy of Holies, where he sprinkled the blood of the goat 
which had heen sacrificed. See above, on the SIN-OFFERING, 
and note on Azazel, p. 429. 

Other fasts were instituted in later times, connected with the siege 
of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (1oth of the roth month), the capture 
of the city (the 17th of the 4th month), the burning of the Temple (the oth 


of the 5th month), the death of Gedaliah (the 3rd of the 7th month): see 
Jer 52° ©°- Zec 73-5 819. Compare JewisH CaLenpar, Part I, § 216. 


The Sabbatic Year.—Every seventh year was ordained 
to be sabbatic ; and during that year, from the 1st of Tisri, 
the land was untilled and fruits ungathered, except by the 
poor; the people, however, were free to hunt, to feed their 
flocks, repair their buildings, and engage in commerce. The 
institution was intended to secure rest for the soil, to teach 
economy and foresight, and to impress upon the people their 
dependence upon God. Special services were held at the 
Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles (Dt 311°"): see Ex 
231911 Ley 25'7, This institute, as Moses predicted (Lev 
26°4), was long disregarded (2 Ch 36”); but after the 
Captivity it was observed more carefully. 

The year after seven sabbatic years, or the fiftieth, was 
the Jubilee (Lev 25°"!!)*. This year was announced on the 
roth of Tisri, the great day of propitiation. In addition to 
the regulations of the sabbatie year, there were others quite 
peculiar. All servants, or slaves, obtained their freedom 
(Lev 25%°-4° Jer 34° 4). All the land throughout the 


* It may be noted that the form jubile (Levy 25 A. V.and R. V.) is 
dissyllabic ; a Hebrew word, from a root signifying a ram; hence 
ram's horn, trumpet. 


DESIGN OF THE LAW 433 


country, and the houses in the cities of the Levites, sold 
during the preceding fifty years, were returned to the sellers, 
except such as had been consecrated to God, and not redeemed 
(Lev 2517-74-28 2716-24), All mortgaged lands, too, were re- 
leased without charge. 

The completeness of the release secured by these arrange- 
ments makes the jubilee a type of the gospel (Is 61? Lu 4°). 


Objects of the Festivals.—The moral and spiritual 
purpose of these festivals is plain. They all tended to unite 
the people in a holy brotherhood and to separate them from 
the heathen. They preserved the memory of past mercies. 
They illustrated the Divine holiness. They lightened the 
load of poverty, checked oppression and covetousness, and 
were all either types of gospel blessings, or suggestive to 

a spiritual mind of the truths to be fully unveiled and 
_ realized in Christ. 

Let the whole Law be thus studied ; regard it as a scheme 
intended to reveal, or suggest, or impress, or preserve, 
spiritual truth, and not only will objections be removed, but 
the whole will appear an elaborate and instructive lesson, 
eminently suited to the condition of the nation to whom it 
was addressed. 


Ff 





CHAPTER XIII 


HISTORICAL BOOKS: FROM THE 
ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN TO 
THE DEATH OF SOLOMON* 


The Historical Books of Scripture generally. 


260. Historical Books enumerated.—The historical 
books of Scripture—from Joshua to Nehemiah—contain, the 
history of the Jewish Church and nation from the first 
settlement in Canaan to the return after the Captivity in 
Babylon. 


The books, as they are placed in the English Bible, are twelve in 
all, though the Jews reckoned them but six, uniting Ruth with 
Judges, Nehemiah with Ezra, and numbering the double Books of 
Samuel, Kings,. and Chronicles, respectively, as one. The Books 
of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings are reckoned by the Jews 
among the Prophets, and denominated ‘the earlier,’ being still placed 
in Hebrew Bibles in this list. Taking into account, therefore, the 
fact that large portions of the Pentateuch and of the later Prophets 
are likewise historical, the modern classification of ‘ historical books’ 
is hardly precise. It is adopted simply as a general and convenient 
distinction. 


261. Their Inspiration.— The historical books of 


Scripture claim, like the rest, inspired authority. Some 
of them bear the names of distinguished prophets, and the 


rest give evidence of a similar origin. The annals of the 


Hebrew nation were kept only by persons appointed to their 


* For the Poetical Books, so far as illustrating this period, see 
Ch. XVI. 


CHARACTERISTICS OF BIBLE HISTORY 435 


office, and the writers mentioned in Scripture as the penmen 
of sacred history are expressly called prophets or seers. 

The history of David, for example, was written by Samuel, Nathan, 
and Gad, 1 Ch 297°; of Solomon, by Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo, 
2 Ch 9”°; of Rehoboam, by Shemaiah and Iddo, 2 Ch 12 ; of Abijah, 
by Iddo. 2 Ch 13”? ; of Jehoshaphat, by Jehu, 2 Ch 20% 1 Ki 16'; and 
of Uzziah and Hezekiah (including probably the two intermediate 
kings), by Isaiah, 2 Ch 267° 32°. Even in rebellious Israel, we read 
of several prophets, and it was no doubt their business to record what 
occurred in that country. 


The narrative portion of Scripture displays throughout 
an intimate acquaintance with the secret motives of men, 
and with the purposes of God*®; reveals His mercy and 
judgement in the clearest predictions; exhibits unexampled 
impartiality ; and enforces everywhere practical holiness. 
The facts it records are appealed to or quoted throughout 
the Bible; the writings which record them were received 
- into the Hebrew canon; and they are cited by Apostles and 
by our Lord. That in these writings other documents are 
named, as the depositories of ampler information, and that 
some of the books were written or collected long after the 
events they describe, are facts which create no difficulty, 
and are in accordance with what we know of the general 
method of revelation. They account, moreover, for the 
occasional blending of matter evidently contemporaneous 
with the events described with other of clearly later origin. ° 


262. Characteristics of Bible History.—The Bible is 
(as we have seen) a selection from the history of the Church, 
giving just so much as was sufficient to inculcate the 
principles of duty, to reveal the character of God, and to 
prepare for the coming of His Son. It is a history of 
the Church only, or of the heathen as connected with its 
sufferings and destiny; and nowhere is this peculiarity of 
the Bible more marked than in the historical portions. 


* r Ki 122628 Bist 5 6. 
Ff2 


436 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


During the times which are chronicled, there were mighty 
nations celebrated for learning and valour, for illustrious 
men and illustrious actions; yet their records are for 
the most part lost in silence or in fable, while the history 
of the Jews, who ‘dwelt apart,’ and were ‘not reckoned 
among the nations,’ has been carefully preserved. Such 
concern has God for His Church, and so dear are its interests 
to Him, Dt 32*-’. 

Another peculiarity is no less marked. Political events 
of deep interest are passed over; the history of long reigns 
is compressed into a few sentences; national concerns give 
place to matters of private life, history to biography, a mighty 
monarch to a poor widow (2 Ki 3 4). These omissions 
and digressions, however, are all explained by the design of 
the Bible. It reveals the grace and providence of God, 
shows the workings of human nature and the blessedness 
of obedience; throughout interweaving lessons and truths 
preparatory to the work and reign of the Messiah. 

Within these limits, however, the completeness of Serip- 
ture history is both characteristic and instructive. It ex- 
plains at once the Law and the Prophets, the Psalms and 
the gospel, the future and the past. To man, to nations, 
to the Church, every chapter is a lesson; and the history, 
studied in the light of the Law and Prophets, is to be applied 
under the guidance of the gospel. 


263. Divisions of the History.—The whole history 
naturally falls into three divisions, the first and second being 
separated by the disruption of the Hebrew kingdom on the 
death of Solomon; the second and third by the Captivity 
of Judah. The third also comprises the Restoration of the 
Jewish state to the close of the Old Testament record. 
The second and third periods are largely illustrated by 
the prophetic writings. To the history of these periods a 
supplementary chapter (XVII) is added in the present work, 


THE BOOK OF JOSHUA 437 


epitomizing the Jewish annals from the close of the Old 
Testament Canon to the Advent. 

The first of these periods is readily divisible into two 
parts; the former comprising the history from the entrance 
into the land of promise to the establishment of the 
monarchy; the latter reaching to the death of Solomon. 
The first {part contains the history of the conquest and 
settlement of Canaan, of the decay of the spirit of obedience 
after the death of Joshua, with the subsequent punishments 
and restorations of the people; the second describes the 
revival of that Spirit under Samuel and David, with the 
splendid but chequered reign of Solomon. Joshua, Judges, 
Ruth, and 1 Sa 1-Io cover the first series of events; I and 
2 Sa, 1 Ki 1-11, 1 Ch and 2 Ch 1-9 record the remaining 
portion. 

The CHronoLocicaL APPENDIX to the present work may be consulted 


- for the order of the principal names and occurrences in the history, 
with the dates so far as ascertainable. 


The Book of Joshua 


264. The name of Joshua designates the hero rather 
than the writer of the narrative, although Jewish tradition 
assigns to him the authorship, and it is at least probable 
that he supplied the materials, to be arranged and supple- 
mented by some later scribe. Many recent Old Testament 
critics, as already stated (see § 235), on account of the con- 
tinuity in style and purpose of this book with the preceding 
five, associate it with them under the title of ‘the Hexa- 
teuch.’ In any case, it bears decisive marks of being in 
the main the narrative of a contemporary and eye-witness 
of the events described (5! 67°); and Joshua himself was an 
instructor and inspired prophet (1 Ki 164, see Jos 676 and 
cp. Ecclus 461). That the book must have been written 
before the days of David or Solomon may be argued from 


438 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


15 compared with 2 Sa 5'~* and from 16! compared 
with 1 Ki 9 

Throughout there is no token of the reign of kings, or of the 
division of the country into rival kingdoms. Additions to the 
original documents may be traced in 15" (Judg 12%), also in 
15° (Judg 1871), 19'7 (Judg 18"), and in 24-*8, Subsequent allusions 
to facts recorded in the book are frequent: see 1 Ch a? p” Ps 44 68 
78 114 Is 28% Hab 3'* Ac 7 Jas 2% Heb 4® 115°, 


His Life.—Joshua was an Ephraimite (1 Ch 7”), one of 
the twelve spies (Num 13°), a faithful servant and companion 
of Moses ; with him upon Sinai (Ex 24 32"), He seems 
also to have been entrusted with the special care of the 
Tabernacle (Ex 33"), After.the death of Moses, he took 
the command of the Israelites, having been early designated 
to that office by God Himself (Dt 311*-*8). Originally he was 
called Hoshea (or Hosea), ‘ salvation ’ or ‘ welfare’ ; Jehoshua, 
‘Jehovah is salyation,’ contracted to Joshua; also Jeshua 
(Ne 8"), The Greek equivalent is Incois, Jesus. See Ac 7 
Heb 48 (A. V.). ‘ 


Considerable light will be thrown upon Joshua and Judges, if studied 
in connexion with the Pentateuch. Between these books there is 
much the same connexion as between the Gospels and the Acts. 

The character and history of Joshua are highly instructive. The 
Spirit was in him, Num 27'§. Having a certain promise of success 
(ch. 1) he yet prudently used whatever means were likely to secure 
it. He sent spies and«disciplined his forces; not resting, however, 
in these, but looking still to God. Thus before attacking the Canaanites 
he solemnly renewed the dedication of himself and the people (5), 
and in seasons of emergency sought by prayer special blessing and 
help (10'-4), ‘Effort and prayer,’ ‘zeal and dependence’ were 
clearly his rule. His piety and devotion are beautifully displayed 
in his closing appeals, and the spirit of affectionate submission with 
which the people received them gives us a favourable impression 
of his influence and of their fidelity (23°). The discipline of the 
wilderness had not been unblessed. 


265. The book falls into rHREE MAIN DIVISIONS. 
I. The Conquest of Canaan.— 1-12: including the 
crossing of the Jordan; the re-establishment of Cireum- 


THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 439 


cision ; the episode of Rahab, who, although a Canaanite. 
entertained the Israelite spies in peace, and is commended 
for the faith which enabled her to recognize the power of 
Jehovah® (Heb 11°; cf. Mt 15); the appearance to Joshua 
of the ‘captain of the host of the Lorp’ to reassure him in 
the crisis of the enterprise ; the miraculous fall of Jericho ; 
and, as a darker shade in the story, the sin and doom of 
Achan before Ai. The rest of the narrative is occupied by 
the annals of a seven years’ war, including especially the 
poetic fragment that commemorates the victory over a con- 
federacy of kings on a memorable day before the sun went 
down >. The object attained was worthy of the wonder that 
was wrought, as the battle of Bethhoron virtually made 
Joshua the master of Palestine. 


The destruction of the Canaanites is a fearful admonition of the 
final issues of transgression. Compared with the Israelites they 
were prebably a disciplined, valiant people; but they seem to have 
made little effort to repel the invaders, Perhaps they trusted to the 
‘swellings of Jordan,’ which at the time when Joshua entered Canaan 
(the vernal equinox) made the stream, as they supposed, impassable ; 
or, perhaps, as one of their number expressed it, ‘the terror of the 
God of the Hebrews’ had fallen upon them. They were certainly 
fearfully wicked (Lev 18°4-°° Dt 94 1810-12), Their idolatry had aug- 
mented, as idolatry ever does, licentiousness and cruelty. The Divine 
will they had once known, for from the times of Noah the light of 
an early revelation had lingered among them (Gen 1418*°). They 
might have been warned—by the Deluge, by the history of the 
cities of the plain, the destruction of Pharaoh, the recent overthrow 
of their eastern neighbours the Amorites, the passage of the Jordan, 
the capture of Jericho, the preservation of Rahab, and the convic- 
tions of their own conscience. Their removal from Palestine, again, 
seems to have been essential for the preservation of the Israelites 


* Rahab became the wife of Salmon ; Boaz was their son, and by 
Ruth became the grandfather of David (Ru 4”! Mt 15). 

> It is needless to inquire into the nature of the miracle; as by the 
attempt to account for the prolongation of daylight by supposing the 
arrest of the earth’s diurnal motion. But see interesting articles by 
E. W. Maunder, of the Greenwich Observatory, in the Sunday at 
Home, February and March, 1904. 


FAY 
440 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


from the contaminating influence of idolatry, and they had the alter- 
native of flight. In fact, many sailed to the distant shores of the 
Mediterranean, and there founded flourishing colonies, thus preserv- 
ing, to comparatively modern times, records of the God who fought 
against them. 

Some may object that the war in which they were exterminated 
was cruel. It is perhaps a sufficient reply that, the cruelties 
practised were common to the age, and that in exterminating a very 
guilty people, the Divine purpose employed usages which generally 
prevailed (Jos 8), It may be added that by similar discipline the 
Israelites themselves were chastised, and the general system involved 
in these events is strictly analogous to the course of moral government 
still exercised in the world ; with this difference only, that now men 
act as rods of God's anger by tacit permission; then, as under His 
immediate authority. ; 

As the triumphs, through faith, of the Israelites may be considered 
typical of the final triumph of the Church, and of every Christian, 
through Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, the Author and Finisher 
of our faith (Heb 2!° 12”), so the destruction of the Canaanites takes 
its place with the Deluge, and the final overthrow of Jerusalem, as 
a signal proof of God’s displeasure against sin, and may be considered 
as an emblem of the Judgement of the Great Day, Ps 109 Lu tg. 


II. Canaan the home of Israel.—The second part of 
the book (13-22) shows the distribution of the conquered 
land among the tribes. It is well described as ‘the Domes- 
day book of the Conquest of Palestine.’ It should be 
studied with a map. Note especially the appointment of 
the Levitical cities and the cities of refuge (20, 21); with 
the settlement of the trans-Jordanic tribes, and the con- 
secration of their altar (22). 

III. The third part of the book describes the close of 
the great warrior’s life—his farewell addresses (23-24"), 
the renewed pledge of the people to the service of Jehovah 
(241®-*8) the death and burial of Joshua, the interment of 
the embalmed body of Joseph (24°°~**), with the death of 
Eleazar, son of Aaron (24°°). 


266. Fulfilment of the Divine Purposes.—And, now, 
God’s promise has been in part fulfilled: the Jews have 
entered Canaan; the Tabernacle of God has been set up 


DIVINE PURPOSE IN THE HISTORY 441 


in Shiloh; the Law has been promulgated and accepted. 
In its morality, it is eminently holy ; in its civil institutes, 
adapted to preserve the people peculiar and separate, and 
to set forth the reality of the Divine government; and in 
its ceremonies, it is a prophetic symbol of the gospel— 
but only in part. The original promise of a blessing to all 
nations, ratified to Abraham, and renewed to the other 
patriarchs, though it included the possession of Canaan, 
seems too comprehensive to end there. The prediction of 
the coming dignity of the tribe of Judah ; the prophecy of 
Balaam ; the announcement by Moses of another greater 
Prophet ; and, ‘especially, the predictions of Dt 31 (see 
also Lev 26 and Dt 28), foretelling the sins of the people, 
and the consequences of them in the dispersion of their 
race, all seemed to direct the attention of the Israelite 
to an enlarged dispensation. They plainly forbade him 
_ to rest altogether in Canaan or in the Law. Everything 
implied a coming universal blessing, a kingdom, a revelation 
not nigh, a Prophet from among the people, a country whose 
inhabitants should no more go out, even for ever. 

The revelation of these blessings was not always clear ; but 
it was clear enough to excite inquiry and justify faith. The 
position of the pious Israelite, therefore, was not altogether 
unlike our own. From Canaan he looked back on fulfilled 
predictions, and forward to a glorious future. Much of his 
future is now past; and we also look back on predictions 
gloriously fulfilled ; others, again, and in some sense, even 
these, are unfulfilled. All nations are not yet blessed in Him. 
A third point of contemplation for pious Jews and devout 
Christians remains ; and the certainty of the predictions, 
whose fulfilment is to intervene, is assured to us by the 
records ot the past. 


442 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS q 


267. Principal Quotations from and References to the 
Book of Joshua in the New Testament. 


Jos 15 Heb 138 
2 Jas 2°5 
6°° Heb 11° 
62 rr 
14) Ac 13" 
24°? 7'® Heb 1173 


The Book of Judges 


268. The authorship of Judges is not known, though 
Jewish tradition ascribes it to Samuel. From the book 
itself we gather that it was written after the commence- 
ment of the Monarchy, 19! 21%, and before the accession 
of David, 171: cf. 2 Sa 5° °§. The ‘house of God’ refers, 
therefore, as in Joshua, to the Tabernacle, 18%! (Jos 9°), and 
the ‘captivity’ spoken of in 18°°, to some contemporary 
servitude; see Ps 78°°-°', where the same phrase is em- 
* ployed. Many of the sacred writers allude to or quote this 
book, 1 Sa 12°" 2 Sa 11% Ps 68 831 Is of 10%. The 
New Testament also refers to heroic names in the annals 
of the judges (Heb 11°%). 


Character of the period.—The Judges (DYDEY, shiphitim) here 
described were not a regular succession of governors, but occa- 
sional deliverers raised up by God, to rescue Israel from oppres- 
sion and to administer justice. Without assuming the state of royal 
authority, they acted for the time as vicegerents of Jehovah, the 
invisible King. Their power seems to have been not unlike that of 
the Sugetes of Carthage and Tyre, or of the Archons of Athens. The 
government of the people may be described as a republican con- 
federacy, the elders and princes having authority in their respective 
tribes. 

The entire duration of judgeship in Israel cannot be learned from 


the book itself; for (1) the repeated mention of twenties and forties — 


in the enumeration of years seems to show that chronological state- 
ments are given in round numbers; and (2) the oppressions and 


: 
: 
: 


THE BOOK OF JUDGES 443 


deliverances, affecting different tribes and localities, were probably 
in several instances contemporaneous. The sum-total of years, if 
taken successively, covers a much longer period than the rest of the 
history allows*. See CHRonoLocicaL APPENDIX. 

The moral character of the Israelites, as described in this book, 
seems to have greatly deteriorated. The generation who were con- 
temporaries with Joshua were both courageous and faithful, and free 
in a great measure from the weakness and obstinacy which had 
dishonoured their fathers (Judg 27). Their first ardour, however, 
had now somewhat cooled, and more than once they fell into a state 
of indifference which Joshua found it needful to rebuke. Perhaps 
the whole territory of Palestine was more than they needed or could 
usefully occupy. As each tribe received its portion, they became so 
engrossed in cultivating it, or so much fonder of ease than of war, that 
they grew unwilling to help the rest. National feeling was lost ; and 
disorders of all kinds arose from the want of settled rule, 217°. All 
found it, moreover, more convenient to make slaves of their subjugated 
nations than to expel them. This policy was both unwise and sinful. 
The results were soon seen. Another generation arose. Living 
among idolaters, the Israelites copied their example, intermarried 
with them, and became contaminated with their abominations, 2! 3°. 
The old inhabitants of the land, left alone, gathered strength to make 
head against the chosen race : surrounding nations and tribes, as the 
Syrians, Philistines, Moabites, and Midianites, took advantage of 
their degeneracy to attack them; while the licentiousness, ease, and 
idolatry, to which the Hebrews were giving way, impaired their 
powers of defence. Especially does the history of Samson, the last 
judge in the series, exhibit the consequences of unbridled sensuality, 


2 Supposing the periods of oppressions and deliverances to have 
been successive, affecting the whole land, we should have the following 
“Table :— 


Ch. Oppressions by Yrs. Ch. Deliverances by Yrs. 
3® Cushan-rishathaim 8 3U = Othniel 40 
34 Eglon 18 399 Ehud 80 
4° Jabin 20 52 Barak 40 
61 Midianites 7 8’8 Gideon 40 
to” >) Tola 23 
To? Jair 22 
ro®& Ammonites 18 12’ Jephthah 6 
12°! Tbzan, &c. 25 
13! Philistines 40 152° Samson 20 
III 296 


giving a total of 407 years, not including Eli's 4o years: 1 Sa 4**. 


PY — 
444 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS oe 


13-16", The succession of aborigines, Hindus, and Mohammedans 
in India affords an instructive parallel. 

269. Outline.—The history of alternate oppressions 
and deliverances, occupying sixteen chapters of the book, 
is followed by two narratives, illustrating the unsettled and 
licentious character of the times: 1. that of Micah the 
Ephraimite (18); 2. that of the Benjamite in Gibeah, an out- 
rage followed by a fratricidal war, and leading to violent 
measures to save the tribe from extermination (19-21). It 
is just, however, to add, that the whole period must not be 
regarded as an uninterrupted course of apostasy. Some of 
the disorders mentioned affected only parts of the country, 
while the rest was in a better state. The sins which in- 
curred punishment, and the deliverances which followed 
repentance, are related at length; while long periods, during 
which the judges governed, and the people obeyed God, are 
described in a single verse. 


270. References to Judges in the New Testament. 


Judg 2'* Ac 137° 
» 4 Barak 
», 6-8 Gideon Heb 1132 


9, 1, 12 Jephthah 
» 4 16 Samson 


The Book of Ruth 


271. The Book of Ruth may be considered as a sequel to 
the Book of Judges, with which it is linked by its first 
word, and as an introduction to the ensuing history. In the | 
Jewish Canon, it does not immediately follow Judges, but — 
forms part of the Hagiographa; being the second of the © 
five Megilloth or Festal Rolls, one of which was publicly 
read at each festival. Ruth, on account of its harvest 
associations, was appointed for Pentecost. In the LXX and 
Vulgate, it is placed next to Judges, as in modern versions. 


THE BOOK OF RUTH 445 


The book contains particulars of the family of Elimelech, 
and informs us how Ruth, a Moabitess, became the wife of 
Boaz, of Bethlehem-Judah, an ancestor of David, and thus of 
Christ. The authorship is unknown; it is ascribed by 
Jewish tradition to Samuel. There are several phrases in 
the original, identical with expressions which elsewhere 
occur only in Samuel and Kings (Ru 117 4° &e.). It is 
_ certain that it was written after the era of the Judges 
(11), when certain Israelite usages had become antiquated, 
4’ (compare Dt 25°), and, probably, when David’s house was 
established upon the throne, 41”? (although the genealogy 
may have been inserted by a subsequent editor). There 
seems no sufficient reason for placing it, with some critics, 
at a late period in the history*. 

Purpose of the book.—A chief design of the book is to 
trace the descent of David, bringing out clearly the fact that 
a foreigner, one of a hated race, was in the ancestral line. 
So Mt 1°, where the further fact is added that Boaz, the 
husband of Ruth, was a descendant of Rahab. Thus does the 
purpose of Jehovah show itself superior to positive command 
(Dt 23°), while the facts expressively indicate the catholicity 
of the Divine Kingdom, and prefigure the calling of the 
Gentiles. 


272. Outline.—The contents of the book are, briefly, as 
follows: An account of Naomi, from her departure with her 
husband in a time of long-continued famine » from Canaan 
into Moab, to her return into the land of Israel with her 


* It has even been attributed to the period after the Captivity, and 
supposed to have been written ‘with a purpose’; either to commend 
the ‘levirate’ marriage-custom ; or else, to vindicate by the example 
of Ruth the marriage with foreigners, in opposition to the legislation 
of Nehemiah. On supposed Aramaisms in the dialogues, see Delitzsch, 
Comm. 

> Possibly, as has been conjectured, during the Midianitish in- 
vasions, which lasted for seven years (Judg 61-®), so that Ruth would 
be a contemporary of Gideon. 


446 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


daughter-in-law Ruth,ch. 1. Interview of Boaz with Ruth, 
and their marriage, 2-4'%. Birth of Obed, and genealogy 
of David, 438-22, 


Lessons.— This book is remarkably rich in examples of faith, 
patience, industry, and kindness, nor less so in intimations of the 
special care which God takes of our concerns; ‘still out of seeming 
ill educing good.’ Elimelech’s misfortunes ; his son’s marriage to a 
Moabitess ; Ruth’s loss of her husband—all end in her own conversion, 
and in the honour of her adopted family. What changes ten years 
have produced! They have turned Naomi (‘pleasantness’) into Mara 
(‘bitter’). She who went out full has come home again empty. 
Her fortitude and faith, however, sustain her; and in her trouble she 
shows equal wisdom and tenderness. When her daughters are told 
what they must expect if they accompany her to Canaan, Orpah 
weeps, but returns to her idols; Ruth cleaves to her, indicating 
thereby depth of affection and religious decision, 17° 24°, Her reward 
she received ‘of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings she 
came to trust.’ 

Incidentally, the book contains some of the loveliest pictures of 
Israelitish rural life to be found in Scripture. Boaz, the genial land- 
owner, his willing labourers, the gleaners in the harvest-field, the 
purity and simplicity of the family affections displayed—all form 
a beautiful contrast to the ruder scenes of conflict and passion which 
marked the era, and seem to single out Bethlehem from the rest of the 
unquiet land. 


Ruth in the New Testament. 


273. Ruth is one of the four women mentioned in the genealogy 
of the Messiah, Mt 1. The selection of these names illustrates in a 
marked degree the sovereignty and mystery of Divine grace. 


The Books of Samuel 


74. General View.—These two books were in the old 
Hebrew Canon reckoned as one®, the present division being 
derived from the LXX, followed by the Vulgate. In those 
versions they are called the First and Second Books of 
Kings, as they form part of the history of the kings of 


* Hence the heading in A. V., otherwise called the First (or Second) Book 
of the Kings: dropped in R. V. 


THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL 447 


Israel and Judah. The place of the books in the Canon, 
the predictions they record®, the quotations from them in 
later books, and in the N.T., supply ample evidence of 
their authority. 


The question of authorship is not free from difficulty ; but there 
seems no reason for rejecting the ancient view that Samuel himself 
wrote 1 Sa 1-24, and that the rest was written by Nathan and Gad. 
We know from 1 Sa 10” 1 Ch 29”? that not only ‘Samuel the scer’ but 
‘Nathan the prophet’ and ‘Gad the seer’ were contemporaneous autho- 
rities: reference is likewise made to the Book of Jasher, 2 Sa 118. 
The latest note of time of composition is in 1 Sa 27°, and this may be 
probably regarded as an editorial addition subsequent to the division 
of Solomon’s kingdom, and before the Captivity. Gad appears to haye 
been one of David’s companions in the wilderness, 1 Sa 22°: he was 
a trusted counsellor of David, 2 Sa 244-“ 1 Ch 24, Nathan was 
prominent among David’s advisers, and was repeatedly commissioned 
to give him Divine messages, 2 Sa 72-17 12! (comp. Ps 51 title). His 
intimate connexion with Solomon should also be noted, 2 Sa 127° 
1 Kir™*°, In Zec 12! his name occurs as representative of the 
_ great family of the prophets. The two books contain several odes. 
The Song of Hannah, 1 Sa 2?—"°, developed later into the Magnificat of 
Mary, Lu 1‘, It prophetically refers to a coming King, ‘the 
Anointed,’ and thus falls into the line of the foreshadowings of the 
Messiah. There are also David’s elegies on the death of Saul and 
Jonathan, and on that of Abner, 2 Sa 11'—?7 3 3854, his ode of triumph 
over his enemies, 22 (Ps 18), and the last song of ‘the sweet psalmist 
of Israel’ 2317. 

The Hebrew text of Samuel, especially in the First Book, presents 
some difficulties in regard to the order of incidents, and to numerical 
statements, and in several passages is obscure. It has evidently 
suffered at the hands of transcribers. Attention should be given to 
the numerous variations in the LXX from the present Hebrew. 
Some of these are noted below. 


First Book: chs. 1-8. 


275. The earlier part of this book closes the annals of 
the Judgeship and begins the history of the Monarchy 
in Israel. The warrior-line of Judges had come to an end ; 
Ext, high-priest in the line of Ithamar, had succeeded to the 


® See 1 Sa 28° 2 Sa ral}? &e, 


om" 


office, which he administered from the sanctuary in Shiloh 
for forty years, being most probably for part of the time con- 
temporary with Samson. It was the time of Philistine 
aggression and domination, brought to a climax by the 
capture of the ark of God and the death of Eli. His suc- 
cessor was SAMUEL, descendant of Levi, through Kohath ; 
though prophet yet not priest, although on certain occasions 
he offered sacrifice. So irregular was the observance of the 
Law, to which nevertheless these books have allusions which 
decisively show that it existed as the Divine rule for the 
nation. See 1 Sa 278-2 3% 4° 7° 8 throughout, 1o* 15%? 
a &. 28a 70 act ae 


448 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


Life and Calling of Samuel.—The familiar history of Samuel’s 
birth, his consecration to the service of Jehovah, and his special call. 
from heaven, fitly introduce the record of his wonderful character 
and career. He was more thana reformer: he restored the religion of 
Israel, and established the schools of the prophets. While yet a youth, 
he rallied his countrymen to a stand against the Philistine hosts, 
which were decisively routed: and ‘Ebenezer,’ ‘the stone of help,’ 
became the memorial of heaven-sent victory. The position of Samuel 
was unique. A direct Divine appointment constituted him both 
political and spiritual ruler of the nation, and gave him a supremacy 
which the king whom he had designated held in respect, 1 Sa 7™. 
But he is chiefly to be noted as the head of the great prophetic line, 
‘ All the prophets, from Samuel and them that followed after,’ is the 
apostolic description of this illustrious succession, Ac 3**. Through 
him again was given that ‘open vision’ long withdrawn (ch. 3, ep. 
Jer 15) Ac 137°), 


First Book continued: chs. 9-31. 


276. Designation of Saul as King.—The people now 
demanded a king; and God gave them their desire. The 
way in which Samuel made the Divine purpose known, and 
carried it out, is narrated in chs. 9, 10, which show among 
other things the simplicity of the great prophet’s life, and 
his condescension to the humblest functions. The appoint- 
ment itself was made with solemn ceremony, and amid signs 
of popular enthusiasm. This part of the history closes with 


SAUL MADE KING 449 


a brief record of the tact and moderation with which Saul 
began his reign. He returned for a while to his own home, 
and took no notice of any still existing disaffection, 1076-27, 

But these signs of hopefulness were soon overborne by the 
display of qualities that unfitted him to rule the Lord’s 
people. His character, indeed, as portrayed in this book, 
exhibits a strange mingling of noble impulses with others 
that proved his ruin. He showed himself to be self-willed 
and passionate, meriting at once the stern reprehension 
of Samuel (157°**) and the exquisite eulogy of David 
(2 Sa 119-27), His outbreaks of jealousy and rage at times 
were maniacal. ‘An evil spirit from Jehovah troubled 
him’ (1614), 


The accounts of the introduction of David to Saul illustrate the 
character of the king in its several aspects. There is much vividness 
in these details, with some undoubted difficulties. The shepherd lad 
who lays the giant low, the minstrel who soothes the monarch’s 
stormy passions, the king’s chosen armour-bearer, a ‘mighty man of 
valour,’ the ‘captain of a thousand,’ and the king’s son-in-law, are 
among the characters in which the son of Jesse is presented. It is 
difficult to harmonize the earlier parts of this delineation, especially 
the fact that the son of Jesse, the minstrel who calmed Saul’s 
troubled spirit, a favourite with the king, and his armour-bearer 
(1645-78), in a subsequent part of the history appears as a youth 
unknown to him (17°°-5*), There may have been a transposition 
of the several accounts. It is noticeable that the LXX omits 17!2-%}, 
also 17°° and 17°°-185°. Such omissions were perhaps by way of 
expedient to remove the difficulty. Other solutions are proposed in 
the Commentaries; one being, that two independent accounts have 
been incorporated. 


277. Saul and David.—On the failure of Saul, David 
was anointed, by Divine direction to Samuel, as the future 
King of Israel. ‘The Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon 
David from that day forward’ (16'%), He incurred the 
jealous hatred of Saul; and the history of his escapes from 
the king’s rage, and of his many adventures, most vivid in 
their interest, occupies the greater part of the remainder of 


Gs 





450 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


the book. The friendship of David and Jonathan, first men- 
tioned 18}, is one of the most charming records of the kind 
that history contains. David’s refuge for a time with the 
Philistines, whose champion he had slain, is remarkable 
and characteristic (27!~* Ps 34 title). Then follows the 
visit of the distracted king to the witch at En-dor (28), 
and the book closes with the disastrous battle at Mount 
Gilboa (south of the great Plain of Esdraelon) in which 
Saul and Jonathan fell. 

It is with this battle that the historical part of Chronicles 
begins (ch. 10). See Introduction to the book. 


Second Book of Samuel. 


278. This book, beginning with David’s elegy on Saul 
and Jonathan, ‘the Song of the Bow’ 118, contains the main 
history of David’s reign. He at once laid claim to the 
crown, according to the Divine appointment; but was resisted 
by the heir of Saul, Esh-baal (called in derision Ish-bosheth, 
‘the man of shame’), supported by Saul’s general Abner, 
and followed by the greater number of the tribes. David, 
supported by his own tribe of Judah, established his throne 
at Hebron ; and a civil war ensued, in which Abner and 
Ish-bosheth were murdered, to David’s unaffected grief. 
Another scion of Saul’s house, a grandson, Merib-baal, son of 
Jonathan, whose name was similarly altered to Mephi-bosheth, 
excited no real apprehension, being a cripple, and was kindly 
treated by David, whose power was no longer seriously 
menaced from within. His first great exploitwwas to capture 
the Jebusite fortress of Zion, up to that time regarded as 
impregnable by its heathen occupants. The record of its 
successful assault is supplemented by the chronicler 
(1 Ch 11*~°), who relates that Joab was first to enter the 
stronghold. 

Henceforth the fortress was known as the City of David, the 
crown of the old Jerusatem (Jos 1o' 15°). But the exploit, 


THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL 451 


and the growing power of David, threatened the supremacy 
of the Philistines, to whom, after the battle of Gilboa, Israel 
had doubtless been tributary. Particulars are wanting: we 
are only told that David inflicted on these ancient foes of 
Israel a series of decisive defeats. The chief of these con- 
flicts were in the Vale of Rephaim (the ‘ Giants’ Valley’), 
between Jerusalem and Bethlehem*. As the result, the 
Israelites were henceforth virtually free from the power of 
their once formidable neighbours. Other victories followed, 
to the east and the north; and the way was opened for the 
secure accomplishment of the purpose on which the king’s 
heart had long been set (Ps 1327-5), the removal of the 
ark, which, since its reclamation from the Philistines twenty 
years ago, had remained ‘in the fields of the wood’ with 
Abinadab of Kirjath-jearim. An act so important in the 
religious history of Israel] is appropriately related in detail (6). 
Most significant is the narrative that follows (7), expressing 
the king’s desire to crown the transaction by erecting a per- 
manent sanctuary.. This gives occasion to a great prophetic 
utterance from Nathan, with the king’s sublime outpouring 
of thankfulness and prayer. 


279. David king in Jerusalem.— David had now trans- 
ferred the seat of government from Hebron, where it had 
remained for seven years, to Jerusalem. His career of con- 
quest continued, marked by notable events (8 10); the war 
with Ammon being specially bitter and prolonged». In 
connexion with this war occurred the great sin of David’s 
career, faithfully related; his heartfelt penitence; Divine 
forgiveness, and the birth of Solomon (1274-5), But though 
the sin was pardoned, its consequences remained; and the 


® It may be noted, as an interesting fact, that the railway to Jeru- 
salem now runs along the valley, its terminus being close by the Valley 
of Hinnom, south-west of the city. 

> On the final treatment of the Ammonites by David, see Part I, 
§ 115, 1. 


Gg2 


i te 


452 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


following history records a melancholy series of family and 
public disasters, The crime of Amnon (13), Absalom’s 
revenge, his disgrace, restoration to favour, his rebellion and 
death, are related in full detail (14-19); then the revolt of 
Sheba the Benjamite, caused by jealousies between the 
tribes (20). The brief paragraph 2073~*° is a virtual repetition 
of 8'®-18, Both passages probably formed the close of 
different accounts of David’s reign. The book closes with 
a series of narratives referable to different periods; the 
vengeance of the Gibeonites upon the family of Saul (21'~"), 
and the honourable burial of the remains of Saul and 
Jonathan, probably belong to an early part of the reign. 
A summary of the contests with Philistia is here introduced, 
in the course of which the giant Goliath is said, according 
to the present text (21'*), to have been slain by El-hanan, 
a Bethlehemite. There is undoubtedly here a transcriber’s 
mistake, to be corrected from 1 Ch 20°*, 


280. David’s thanksgiving, and ‘ last words.’—Chapter 
22 contains Ps 18, with a few variations; and in 23°7 
there is a poem describing an ideal king, with an account 
of David’s heroes 23° °°, evidently distinct from the fore- 
going. The last chapter of the book gives an account 
of a pestilence following a census of Israel, apparently under- 
taken by David in a vainglorious spirit; with a consequent 
propitiatory sacrifice, in connexion with which the site of the 
future Temple is acquired. 


Compare the account in 1 Ch, 21. ‘Ornan’ and ‘Araunah’ are 
different forms of the same name. The price of ‘ the threshing-floor 
and oxen’ was fifty shekels of silver (2 Sa 24”4), that of ‘the place,’ 
i.e. the whole of what was afterwards the Temple hill, six hundred 
shekels of gold. 


281. Events recorded in the Books of Samuel, probably 
referred to in Psalms ascribed by expositors, or by their Jewish 
titles, to David. (On these titles, see §§ 386, 387.) 


* For further remarks on this passage, see Part I, § 58, 13. 


Sieh i i 


EVENTS REFERRED TO IN THE PSALMS 453 


(Those marked * are aczording to the superscriptions, 
others conjecturally : some Psalms are ascribed to more than 
one occasion, the opinion of expositors varying greatly.) 


Historical Connexion. 


i. Prior to the reign of David. 


David when calumniated at court of | 1 Sa 18, 19 


Saul 

When pursued by Saul 

David’s flight to Gath 

‘When he fled from Saul in the 
eave,’ i.e. at Adullam, or it may 
be En-gedi 

When Doeg the Edomite informed 

Saul of Dayid’s coming to the 

house of Ahimelech 

When David was betrayed by the 
Ziphites 

Escape from Saul 


When pursued by Saulat En-gedi | 
David’s pursuit of and yictory over 
Amalekites 
After David's accession to the Throne and 
prior to his great Fall. 
Accession to the Throne 
Jerusalem made the capital 
“At the dedication of the house of | 
David’ 
Removal of the Ark to Jerusalem 
Promises by Nathan to David 
Wars and conquests 
To this period generally 


=r 


ii. 


ili. David’s Fall and Repentance. 
Dayid’s great sin and repentance 


To this period generally | 


” 


” 


? 


7 


%? 


” 


” 


References. Psalms. 


7*, 11 (Ewald), 
12 

19!“ | so¥*, 22 

2110-15 | 56*, 34* 

22l2 | 57%, 142* 
or 24 





226-23 52* 


2319-24 | 54° 
23°28 17( Hitzig, Moll., 


31 (Del.) 
24 | 35 (Késter), 63 
30 16 (Hitzig) 


}2Saa2t* | 27, 28 


52 | 68, ror 
30*, 29 


6-1 | 68, 15, 24, 26 

7 138 

Sis | 60*, 9, 20, 2I 

| 5, 6, 8, 16, 18, To, 

23, 29, 36, 58, 
68 (Del.), 108, 
97* (Sept.), 98* 
(Sept.), 99° 
(Sept.) 


rah 51*, 32, 38, 39, 
| 40, 41 


55, 58, 103 


r 
( 
\ 







454 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 





Tlistorical Connexion. References, Psalms. 
iv. The Time of the Great Revolt. ) 
Events immediately preceding | 2Sa r5!-*) | 6, 64 
Flight from Absalom | 9, 15)3-8°) 3*, 4 (Koster), 31, 
” 61, 62 (Del.), 
| 63 (Del.), 69 
Rebellion of Absalom » FY 27, 28, 42 (Sept.), 
43 (Sept.), 70, 
| 143 
Ahithophel's treachery » 17° Tas as 
v. Dedication of Araunah’s threshing. ,, 247° Bi | 
floor . 


282. Principal Quotations from the Books of Samuel in the 
New Testament. 


1 Sa 2! Lu r4647 

» 8 10! Ac 137! 

»» 13/4 »y 137? 

5 15S Mk 128 

“Le Mt 12°4 Mk 275-26 Ty 6% 
2 Sa 71238 Ac 2% 1336 

Se is Heb 15 

» av Mt 19% Lu 335% 


Prophecy: from Samuel to David 


283. The Prophetic Spirit revived: Samuel. — In 
Samuel we have a revival of the prophetic spirit. From 
the days of Joshua to Eli there seems to have been ‘no open 
vision’ (1 Sa 3 Ac 137° 3*4). Under the Judges, the original - 
covenant remained as at first. The Jewish polity and priest- — 
hood were unchanged. The Law, as given by Moses, was 
in full force, and the Books of Samuel repeatedly evince 
a knowledge of the records and institutions of the Penta- 
teuch (see § 275) In the days of Samuel, however, 
marked changes were passing over the state. Calamities 
were becoming more confounding, successes more extra- 


SAMUEL AND DAVID AS PROPHETS § 455 


ordinary and transient. The priesthood was to be trans- 
ferred; kingly government to be established. By and by, 
the kingdom itself would be broken and divided. Idolatry 
would be publicly sanctioned, needing public authoritative 
rebukes. Then would follow a long series of afflictions, 
ending in removal and captivity, as long ago predicted. 

Changes so serious needed special interposition. Hence 
the necessity of a revival and enlargement of prophetic 
revelation. As Moses required peculiar evidence of a Divine 
appointment for his mission, so did Samuel. He appears, 
therefore, as prophet, and commences an age of prophecy 
which continues without any material chasm to the days 
of Malachi. 

A supernatural call and a prophetic vision were granted 
to him at the commencement of his ministry, even in his 
youth. He was commissioned to repeat to Eli a prediction 
which a man of God had already announced, and the fulfil- 
ment of this prediction, with other circumstances, gave early 
evidence of his authority. The people soon sought a king, 
and as their request implied a distrust of the protection and 
love which had made them a theocracy, it was opposed by 
the prophet in God’s name. At length, God complied, and 
it became the business of the prophet to watch over the 
change, to define the laws of the kingdom, to show whom 
Jehovah had chosen, and ultimately to transfer the kingdom 
to the person and tribe of David. So far, the predictions 
and business of the prophet were chiefly civil. 


284. David as Prophet (see Ac 2°°).—In David’s person 
and reign prophecy assumes a new character. His kingdom 
was first confirmed to him (2 Sa 7!2-!7 Ps 8g). The 
character and kingdom of Solomon are then foretold, and, 
blended with these, we find revelations of a higher and 
holier kind. The promise to Abraham was, as we have 
seen, both temporal and evangelical; so also is now the 


456 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


promise to David. To Abraham, the Messiah had been 
announced, more or less clearly, as the promised Seed; to 
Moses, as the coming Prophet; to all of that age, as the 
Priest; to David, he appears, in addition, as King. In 
connexion with his reign, therefore, we have distinct fore- 
shadowings of Messiah’s authority, of the hostility of the 
kings of the earth, of His sceptre of righteousness, of His 
unchangeable priesthood, of His exalted nature, of His death, 
and His victory over death, and of His dominion, including 
both Israel and the Gentiles (Psalms 2, 16, 45, 110, &c.). 

How far David himself was conscious of the deeper 
meaning of the prophecies addressed to him, as by Nathan, 
or uttered by himself in Psalms, we cannot tell. To him as 
to other inspired seers, the words of Peter apply: 1 Ep. 12°—?*. 
But from Peter also we elsewhere learn that David knew 
that ‘God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit 
of his loins He would set One upon his throne’ (see R. V., 
Ac 2°° and margin). 

In proportion as the kingdom and character of the Christ 
were thus brought into view, provision was made for deepen- 
ing the impression of these prophecies upon the hearts of the 
people, and making them conducive to faith and piety. As 
uttered in Psalms, they passed into the devotions of the 
Church. These Psalms form the most important additions 
that had yet been made to the Mosaic revelation, and were 
clearly adapted to inspire ancient worshippers with the 
Messianic hope. Very beautiful, too, is the growing dis- 
tinctness of these predictions. To Abraham a seed was 
revealed. When his descendants had become tribes, to 
Judah the promise was confined ; and now, when the king- 
dom appears, it is given to David. Nor can these predictions 
be ascribed to flattery or selfishness. It is not David who 
in the first instance receives them. Nor is it to himself, in all 
their fullness, that he appropriates them. He applies them 
to another, and the messenger who gives them is Nathan, 


THE BOOKS OF KINGS 457 


the prophet who rebuked his sin, and severely threatened 
Solomon with the consequences of his apostasy. The faith- 
fulness of such servants of God had other and immediate 
ends, but it proves incidentally the truth of their announce- 
ments. 


The Books of Kings 


285. General View.—The two Books of Kings (which in 
ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible form but one book) 
contain the history of Israel and Judah, from the end of 
David’s reign to the Babylonian Captivity. The present 
division of the books is taken from the LXX and Vulgate, 
in which they are entitled the Third and Fourth Books of 
Kings. 

Nothing certain is known of the authorship; the most 
probable opinion is, that as memoirs of their own times 
were written by several of the prophets, for the use of the 
kingdom, the present books were compiled from such 
records. Jewish tradition points to the authorship of 
Jeremiah, but the events described reach to the liberation 
of Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon some twenty-five 
years later than the latest notice of the prophet (Jer 44). 
A late authorship seems to be indicated by the frequent use 
of Aramaisms, but caution is necessary in view of our 
ignorance of local dialects. The view that the books were 
drawn up from various documents by one hand is con- 
firmed by the books themselves. 

The sources referred to are (1) The Book of the Acts of Solomon, 
zt Kix’. (2) The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, 1 Ki 14°, 
referred to fifteen times. (3) The Buiok of the Chronicles of the Kings of 
Israel, 1 Ki 14", referred to seventeen times. (4) The frequent inser- 
tions, with little or no alteration, of the records of eye-witnesses in 
the narrative portions of the histories of the Prophets, Elijah, Elisha, 
and Micaiah, indicate the use of older material, presumably preserved 
among the annals of the schools of the prophets. Compare the list 
given under Chrenicles, § 259. 





/ 


458 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


The frequent vividness of the narrative bespeaks the 
work of eye-witnesses ; but that the whole was revised by 
one hand appears from the similarity of style and idiom in 
various unimportant expressions, 


286._Co i ith Chronicles.—The comparative 
dates of Kings and Chronicles explain various differences 
of phraseology and other variations. See § 290. 

Differences in the order of events are explained by the 
fact that none of the writers profess to give the exact order 
of time*. Additions, omissions, and abbreviations may be 
ascribed to the different aim of each narrative. 

Other differences, amounting to discrepancies, are occa- 
sionally found, and refer chiefly to numbers and names. 
It is well known that the text of Samuel, Kings, and 
Chronicles is in a worse condition than that of any other 
of the inspired writings; nor must we ascribe to the 
author what may be due to the errors of copyists®, These 
variations, it may be added, do not affect any article of faith 
or rule of life, and till we can rectify them they ought to be 
candidly acknowledged. 

Both books are referred to or quoted in the New Testa- 
ment°*. It is remarkable that the inspired acclamation of 
David to the praise of God is:ascribed by the seer of the 
Apocalypse to the blessed spirits who celebrate the praises 
of God in heaven, 1 Ch 29!!! Rey 512-5, 


287. Theccratic character of the History.—A com- 
ment on the life and career of David has been already given 
in the section on the Books of Samuel. It may here be 
added, with regard both to himself, to Solomon, and to their 
successors, that the most remarkable feature in their history, 

* Thus, 1 Ch 14 2 Ch 14-7 9° are evidently out of chronological 
order. 

> See 2 Ch 838 (1t Ki?) 1 Ch. 111 (2 Sa 29%) 215 (2 Sa 24°) x Ch 
18 (2 Sa 84) 1918 (2 Sa ro!8), 

© See § 300. ‘ 


THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 459 


as given in Kings and Chronicles, is its religious, theocratic 
character. King, Church, State are all represented as 
under God. The character of each king is decided by 
his fidelity to the religious obligations of his office. Of 
each it is said, he ‘walked in the ways of David his 
father,’ and so prospered; or ‘of Jeroboam, who made 
Israel to sin,’ and so failed. 

These books are valuable as the history of God and His 
law in the nation—and that nation a monarchy; as the Books 
of Joshua and Judges are the history of God and His law 
in an aristocracy or a democracy; or as the earlier books are 
the history of God and His law in the family. In the 
Prophets, and in the Acts of the Apostles, we have glimpses 
of what is to be the history of God and His law in the 
world. Hence the prominence given to the erection of 
the Temple ; the numerous references to the ancient law, 
especially when the two kingdoms were drawing to their 
end; the frequent interposition of prophets, now rebuking 
the people, and now braving the sovereign ; the deposition 
and succession of kings; and the connexion everywhere 
traced between what seem to be mere political incidents 
and the fidelity or idolatry of the age*. Were nations wise, 
these records would prove their best instructors; they are 
adapted to teach alike the world and the Church. 


First Book of Kings, chs. I-11. 


288. The first eleven chapters of the First Book relate 
the last days of David, the attempt of Adonijah to be 
recognized as his successor, 1; the dying king’s charge to 
Solomon, 2!~®; his decease, 1°-'1; Solomon’s accession, his 
measures of severity, 2!*~*°; his alliance with Egypt, 3!; the 
national religion, *—*, 


®'See 2 Ki 5-8 ro 1719-1587 1784-6 ‘Hlijah’s history; 1 Ki 15° 
2 Ki 11). 


~~ oe we 


460 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


The Pharaoh whose daughter Solomon married must have been one 
of the later kings of the twenty-first dynasty, possibly Pasebkhanen II. 


Solomon chooses ‘an understanding heart’ us the best gift 
3°, and gives proof of it 1°-*8. He is established in his 
kingdom, and recognized as the wisest among men 4. With 
great treasure, partly inherited from David, he obtains from 
the maritime and commercial country of Pheenicia, then 
under the rule of Hiram, materials and workmen for the 
erection of the Temple, which, after occupying thirteen 
years in construction, is solemnly dedicated, chs. 5-8. 


The date of the Temple building is given in 61 as four hundred and 
eighty years after the Exodus. On this see Part I, § 198; also the 
CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 


The splendour of Solomon’s reign, renewed Divine com- 
munications, the visit of the Queen of Sheba, oceupy chs. 
9, Io. Ch. 11 gives an account of his moral and religious 
decline, the troubles of his later days, and his death. 

Before proceeding to the continuation of Kings, some 
account must be given of the Books of Curonices. 


The Books of Chronicles 


289. General view.—These books were included by 
the Jews in the Kethubhim, or Hagiographa, thus dis- 
tinguished from the Books of Kings, which form part of 
the ‘ Earlier Prophets.’ In the Hebrew Bible, as at present 
arranged, the Books of Chronicles are placed at the end. 
They were originally one, and called the Words of Days, i.e. 
diaries or journals, probably in allusion to the ancient annals 
out of which they appear to have been composed. In the 
LXX they are distinguished as the books of Omissions 
(rapaXei7ronevwv), and were regarded as a kind of supplement 
to the preceding books of Scripture, supplying such in- 


THE BOOKS OF CHRONICLES 461 


formation as was rendered necessary by the alterations 
consequent upon the Captivity. The present title was first 
given to them by Jerome. 


According to Jewish tradition Ezra was the author, and it will be 
observed that the conclusion of 2 Chronicles is the same as the 
beginning of Ezra, thus joining these books, which together with 
Nehemiah originally formed one connected whole. ‘They also 
resemble each other in the point of view from which the history is 
treated, in the method followed in the choice of material, as well as 
in the preference shown for particular topics—genealogies, statistics, 
registers, description of religious ceremonies, details respecting the 
sacerdotal classes, and the organizations of public worship’ (Driver). 
No exact determination of date can be given. Ifthe main authorship 
was Ezra’s, there was probably addition by a subsequent writer 
(x Ch 319-4), 


Compilation. The fact that the ‘Chronicles’ were com- 
piled from earlier documents, themselves the work of 
prophets, is abundantly evident in these books. These 

documents seem often to be quoted literally: see 2 Ch 5°8°; 
the purpose of the compiler being not to modify these 
documents, but to connect with them his own narrative. 
Many passages also are identical, or nearly identical, with 
passages in Kings, both being evidently taken from the 
same annals. 

The documents referred to or quoted are :— 

(1) The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel, 2 Ch 164 2576 28°, That 
the Canonical Books of Kings are not intended is evident from 
allusions made to events not there recorded. (2) The History of Samuel 
the Seer, 1 Ch 297%, (3) The History of Nathan the Prophet, 1 Ch 29%. 
(4) The History of Gad the Seer, 1 Ch 297°. (5) The Prophecy of Ahijah the 
Shilonite, 2 Ch 9°. (6) The Vision of Iddo the Seer, 2 Cho”. (7) The 
Histories of Shemaiah the Prophet, and of Iddo the Seer,2Ch12, (8) The 
History of Jehu the son of Hanani, 2 Ch 20%4. (9) The Commentary of the Book 
of the Kings, 2 Ch 2427. (10) The Acts of Uzziah, by Isaiah, the son of Amoz, 
2Ch 262, (11) The Vision of Isaiah the Prophet, the son of Amoz, 2 Ch 32°”, 
(12) The Words of the Seers (of Hozai, R. V.), 2 Ch 331°. Compare the 
list of references in 1 and 2 Ki, § 255. 


290. Comparison with Samuel and Kings.—The three 


462 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


double books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles have much 
in common, though they have also characteristic differences. 
They treat for the most part of the same period, and should 
be read and compared together. In Chronicles, the Temple 
is spoken of as ‘the House of God,’ or ‘of Jehovah’ no fewer 
than thirty-four times. The ‘divisions’ and ‘courses’ of the 
priests and Levites are given in full detail. Priests and 
Levites are very frequently coupled together (only once 
in 1 Ki, 8*). So ‘singers’ and ‘porters’ (also in Ezra and 
Nehemiah). Great prominence also is given to the measures 
of David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and Josiah, for the establish- 
ment of public worship. 

The genealogical tables of the Chronicles, though to us 
comparatively uninteresting, were highly important among 
the Jews, who were made by prophetie promises extremely 
observant in these particulars. These tables give the sacred 
line through which the promise was transmitted for nearly 
3,500 years ; a fact itself unexampled in the history of the 
human race. That of Zerubbabel is continued to the time 
of Alexander ; 1 Ch 31°~**, evidently by a later writer. 


Most Bible students have, at one time or another, endeavoured to 
obtain or to construct for themselves a ‘ Harmony’ of the Chronicles 
with the older histories ; and, although rewarded by the discovery of 
many correspondences and mutual illustrations, they have often been 
checked by unexpected difficulties in their task. The following points 
of resemblance and of contrast should be carefully noted. See also 
§ 286. 

I. SE the histories of both 
Israel and Judah : those of Chronicles contain (after the Disruption) 
the annals of Judah only. The fact accounts for many omissions in 
the latter; among others for the want of reference to Elijah and 
Elisha. 

2. Several passages in both are evidently from the same documents, 
with such slight varimtions as mark most transcripts of the kind. 

3. Some passages record the same events from different sources. 
Hence apparent discrepancies. 7 

4. In regard to the language of the books, it may be noted that in 
Chronicles we Htve—Aramaic forms (1 Ch 11% 13? 1527 18° 2 Ch ro!*), 


THE FIRST BOOK OF CHRONICLES 463 


later words and expressions (1 Ch 147 19 21? 2 Chr 164), and synony- 
mous phrases used for others liable to misconception (1 Ch 19* 
2 Ch 2212), 

5. In studying the different records, it must be remembered all 
through that the-Beoks of Chronicles are essentially Levitical. To 
all therefore that concerns the house and service of Jehovah, especial 
prominence is given. 

Valuable assistance in regard to such ‘Harmony’ will be found in 
The Hebrew Monarchy, by Andrew Wood, M.A., with Introduction by 
Dean R. Payne Smith, 1896. This work also contains in their pre- 
sumed place the contemporary Psalms and Prophecies, with a com- 
mentary on the whole. 


First Book of Chronicles ; and Second Book to ch. 9. 


291. Outline.—Book I, I-9 contains a summary of 
the Israelite genealogies. The History, parallel with 
that in Samuel and Kings, begins with ch. 10 (1 Sa 31). 
The whole of the record concerning the attempt to make 
Ish-bosheth king is omitted; ch. 11 showing David estab- 
lished on the throne. The histories then for the most 
part coincide, special stress being laid in Chronicles on 
David’s appointments for the service of the Tabernacle. The 
campaign against Ammon is mentioned in Chronicles (20), 
but without the record of David’s sin and penitence. The 
whole account of Absalom’s rebellion and death is also 
omitted in Chronicles, with the insurrection under Sheba. 
David’s song of praise and his ‘last words,’ describing an 
ideal king, are absent from Chronicles. Both contain an 
account of the king’s heroes, the ‘three’ and the ‘thirty’ 
(2 Sa 23 1 Ch 11). David's sin, again, in numbering the 
people, and its chastisement are in both the histories 
(2 Sa 24 1 Ch 21). Then follows in Chronicles an account 
of the institutions of David’s kingdom, military and Leviti- 
cal (23-27), passed over in the other records. The erection 
of the altar upon Ornan’s (Araunah’s) threshing-floor is 
related by both historians, while Chronicles alone records 


464 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BOOKS 


David’s preparations for the Temple. The troubles of 
David’s old age, the pretensions of Adonijah, and the 
anointing of Solomon as king in his father’s lifetime, are 
peculiar to Kings. Both histories record David's farewell 
instructions to Solomon, those in Kings referring to his 
political conduct (1 Ki 2'~°), those in Chronicles to the 
erection of the Temple (1 Ch 28 29), closed by a sublime 
thanksgiving and prayer ‘ before all the congregation.’ 

The death of David, the accession and reign of Solomon, 
with the building and consecration of the Temple, are 
common, with occasional variations, to both histories, that in 
Chronicles being the more copious in details. The record of 
Solomon’s marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter, of his commerce 
by sea, of the visit of the Queen of Sheba, with the account 
of his wealth, are, again, in both. His polygamy and 
idolatry are narrated in Kings alone, with the ‘ adversaries’ 
raised up against him towards the end of his reign. His 
death is recorded in both histories, with the disruption 
of the kingdom that followed. From that event, the Book 
of Chronicles (2) narrates the history of Jupau (the Southern 
Kingdom), with only occasional references to Isrart (the 
Northern), that of Kings (1, 2) records the history of both 
kingdoms, until their overthrow. 


292. Note on the Reigns of David and Solomon.—The reigns of 
David and Solomon constitute the golden period of the Jewish state. 
From the first, David showed the utmost anxiety that every step he 
took towards the possession of the kingdom should be directed by 
Jehoyah, 1 Sa 23? 2Saa!. He acted ever as ‘His servant’; and 
when established in his kingdom, his first concern was to promote the 
Divine honour and the religious welfare of his people (2 Sa 61 71"), 
As a king he sought the prosperity of the state, and as the visible 
representative of Jehovah he strictly conformed to the spirit of the 
theocracy. It was due to this character of his administration, probably, 
rather than to his private virtues, that he is designated ‘as a man 
after God's own heart’ (1 Sa 13!4; see also Ac 13%"), who was to 
‘execute all His will.’ It is, indeed, impossible to vindicate all his 
acts, or to regard him as a perfect character, And yet when we look 


SOLOMON’S GREATNESS 465 


at the piety of his youth, the depth of his contrition, the strength of 
his faith, the fervour of his devotion, the loftiness and variety of his 
genius, the largeness and warmth of his heart, his eminent valour 
in an age of warriors, his justice and wisdom as a ruler, and his 
adherence to the worship and will of God, we may well regard him 
as a model of kingly authority and spiritual obedience. 

Solomon continued the policy and shared the blessing of his father. 
His dominions extended from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, 
and from the Red Sea and Arabia to the utmost Lebanon (1 Ki 471 &c.). 
The tributary states were held in complete subjection, and, as they 
were still governed by their own princes, Solomon was literally ‘king 
of kings.’ The Canaanites who remained in Palestine became peace- 
able subjects or useful servants. His treasures were immense, com- 
posed largely of the spoils won by his father from many nations, and 
treasured up by him for the purpose of building a temple to Jehovah. 
To these Solomon added the proceeds of oppressive taxation. The 
largeness of his harem transgressed the bounds of even Oriental 
licence, though possibly dictated by worldly policy. 

The wisdom of Solomon is celebrated both in Scripture and in 
Eastern story. Three thousand proverbs gave proof of his virtues 
and sagacity. A thousand and five songs placed him among the first 
_ of Hebrew poets ; while his knowledge of natural history was shown 
by writings which were long admired. 

His very greatness betrayed him. His treasures, wives, and chariots 
were all contrary to the spirit and precepts of the Law (Dt 17!4"), 
His exactions alienated the affections of his people; and, above all, 
he was led astray by his wives, and built temples to Chemosh, or Baal- 
Peor, the obscene idol of Moab ; to Moloch, the god of Ammon; and 
to Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Sidonians. His later days, there- 
fore, were disturbed by ‘adversaries,’ who stirred up revolt in the 
tributary states; the tribe of Ephraim became a centre of disaffection ; 
Hadad did ‘mischief? in Edom; Damascus declared its indepen- 
dence under Rezon; and Ahijah was instructed to announce to 
Solomon himself that, as he had broken the covenant by which he 
held his crown, the kingdom should be rent from him and part of it 
given to his servant, t Kiri. To this ‘servant’ Jeroboam, Ahijah 
prophesied that he would become ruler of ten out of the twelve tribes, 
yerses 29-39. Yet his reign, on the whole, was most prosperous. 
‘Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in 
multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.’ The land was 
free from hostile raids. From Dan even to Beersheba, they dwelt 
safely every man ‘under his vine and under his fig-tree.’ 

The great event of Solomon’s life was the erection of the Temple. 
As this building fulfilled a prophecy (2 Sa 73%), and was a symbol 


Hh 


: a 
466 THE EARLY HISTORICAL BC 


of Jehovah’s abode with the people, so it was itself 
phecy and a type,—a type of the Jewish people and of the C 
and a prophecy of God's continued ‘presence (Jer 7). Its history, 
therefore, is an index to the history of the Jews themselves. When 

it fell, they were scattered ; as it rose from its ruins, they gathered — 
round it again ; and history dates the Captivity, with equal accuracy, — 
from the destruction of the Temple, or from the first capture of Jeru- 
salem (see § 349), 1 Ki 97° 2 Ch 7*° Jer 7 Is 448. 








=f 


CHAPTER XIV 


HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL 
BOOKS FROM THE DEATH OF 
SOLOMON TO THE BABY- 
LONIAN CAPTIVITY 


Historical View (1 Ki 12 to 2 Ki 25; 2 Ch 10-36)% 


293. Division of the Kingdom.—With the reign of 
Solomon ended the glory of united Israel. The kingdom 
. was thenceforth dismembered, the immediate cause being 
the folly of Rehoboam, although there had been much dis- 
affection, owing in great measure to the enormous pressure 
of the taxation needful to maintain the royal state. Ten 
tribes, of which Ephraim was chief, separated from the rest, 
and formed the kingdom of Israel; Judah, with which 
Benjamin was now united, alone remained faithful to the 
house of David. To the kingdom of Judah, however, most 
of the Levites, and many who feared God out of all the 
tribes, ultimately adhered, 2 Ch 112°~}8, 

The history of these kingdoms presents striking contrasts 
and instructive lessons. 


294. The Kingdom of Israel.— Jeroboam, the first King 
of Israel, an Ephraimite, was raised to the throne with 
Divine sanction conveyed through the prophet Ahijah, and 
a conditional promise was given that his kingdom should 


* See Intropuctions to the respective books; also CHRoNoLoGIcaAL 
APPENDIX. 


Hh2 


468 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


be as David’s (1 Ki 11°°)._ But Jeroboam had neither the 
faith nor the obedience of David. To preserve the indepen- 
dence of his kingdom, he established a separate priesthood, 
and established the calf-worship at Dan and Bethel, declaring 
this to be the true method of serving Jehovah*. He thus 
framed a system of idolatry, which became ever afterwards, 
in one form or another, part of the national religion. He 
himself, therefore, is branded in history as ‘Jeroboam, the 
son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.’ From this time 
to that of Hoshea, the nineteenth and last Israelite king, 
we find none free from the charge of general depravity. 


Of king after king, it is said that he ‘did that which was. 


evil in the sight of the Lord.” Omri, famous and powerful 
among the neighbouring nations, as the monuments show, 
was in character among the worst. Ahab, his son, under 
the influence of Jezebel, his Sidonian queen, introduced the 
worship of the Pheenician Baal, idolatry of deeper dye than 
that of Jeroboam. Jehu, indeed, destroyed the prophets of 
Baal, and for his partial obedience was rewarded with 
enlarged temporal blessing ; but he ‘took no heed to walk in 
the law of the Lord, for he departed not from the sin of 
Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin.’ The nation copied their 
kings. There were a few exceptions, but it needed, in 
Elijah’s days, a direct revelation to discover them; and out 
of the hundreds of thousands of whom Israel was composed, 
but 7,000 are mentioned as not having bowed the knee 
unto Baal. 

Meantime Israel was not without warning. Within fifty 
years appeared the prophets Jehu and Micaiah, Elijah and 
Elisha; the two latter working more miracles than any 
prophet had wrought since the days of Moses and Joshua, 
A few years after their protracted ministry came Jonah, 


* Compare the sin of Aaron, Ex 32°. The violation of the second 
commandment was idolatry, even though the worship was professedly 
rendered to Jehovah under the calf-symbol. 


THE ISRAELITE KINGS 469 


Hosea, and Amos. The messages of these prophets were 
confirmed by Divine chastisements. 


The reign of Jeroboam II, although outwardly prosperous (2 Ki 14°), 
formed no exception to the prevailing apostasy, and, in contrast with 
the house of David, in which, notwithstanding much degeneracy and 
sin, the succession was maintained, according to the Divine promise, 
to the end, the line of Israelite kings was so broken that in the 
course of about 220 years nine different dynasties occupied the throne. 


. Jeroboam I; Nadab; slain by Baasha. 

. Baasha ; Elah ; murdered by his servant Zimri. 

. Zimri ; committed suicide after a week’s reign. 

- Omri (Tibni, rival-king); Ahab; Ahaziah ; Jehoram; killed in 
battle by Jehu. : ' 

. Jehu; Jehoahaz ; Jehoash ; Jeroboam IL; Zechariah; slain in 
conspiracy by Shallum (Am 7°). 

. Shallum ; murdered by Menahem, 

. Menahem ; Pekahiah; slain by his captain Pekah. 

. Pekah ; slain in conspiracy by Hoshea. 

. Hoshea; deposed by the Assyrian monarch, after nine years’ 
reign. 


on ek WOND 


oOo On OO 


295. The ruin of the last two kings was directly traceable 
to the fatal policy of alliance with heathen powers. 
Pekah had sought the aid of Rezin, king of Syria, against 
Ahaz, and had at first prevailed. Ahaz, imitating his rival’s 
policy, applied for help to Tiglath-pileser (or Pul), King of 
Assyria. He came and chastised the Israelites, carrying 
into Media the two and a half trans-Jordanic tribes, and 
making the rest tributary. Such was the first captivity 
of Israel. ‘en years later, Hoshea appealed to So, King of 
Egypt (probably Sabaco the Ethiopian, founder of the 25th 
dynasty*), to assist him in throwing off the tribute, 
Hezekiah unhappily joining in the confederacy. This revolt 
brought up Shalmaneser, son of Tiglath-pileser, with a large 
host ; Samaria fell before the power of Sargon, Shalmaneser’s 

@ Herodotus IT, § 137. For the different theory by Winckler see in 


Hastings’ Dict. Bible, art. So. There seems, however, no solid reason 
for rejecting the general view, as above. 


eee fo 
9 eg 


470 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


successor, and was annexed to the Assyrian crown; the 
second captivity of Israel, completing the depopulation 
of the land. Hezekiah escaped, the army of Sennacherib, 
son of Sargon, being miraculously destroyed. 


Origin of the Samaritans.—The conquered Israelite 
territory was afterwards peopled by settlers from the region 
of the Tigris and Euphrates. They intermarried with 
those of the Israelites who had remained, and ultimately 
took the name of Samaritans. The ravages of lions in the 
depopulated country were attributed by them to the anger 
of ‘the God of the land’; and on their appeal to the 
Assyrian king, a priest of Jehovah was sent to instruct them. 
At first their religion was of a motley kind, ‘they feared 
Jehovah and served their own gods.’ After the reforms 
by Josiah, however, which extended to Bethel and the 
northern districts (2 Ki 23!° 2 Ch 34°"), the people seem 
to have submitted to the destruction of their idols, and 
nominally to have adopted the Israelite religion. This fact, 
too, led to further complications, as the succeeding history 
shows. 

What became of the Ten Tribes is not known *. 
Customs, rites, and features like theirs have been discovered 
in all parts of the world. Many of them seem to haye 
returned at different periods to their own land. Cyrus 
addressed his proclamation to all the people of Jehovah 
(Ezr 1'~*), and some of the rites connected with the con- 
secration of the Temple imply that there were present 
remnants of all the tribes; while many Israelites seem to — 
have been settled in Galilee and Perza long before the days 
of our Lord (rt Mac 5°~*%), The appellation of Israelite, 
indeed, was no longer restricted to the northern tribes; and — 
in New Testament times the old nationality seems in a 

" On the supposed discovery of the Ten Tribes in one or another 


part of the world, see Milman, History of the Jews, Book viii, pp. 375 84q- 
(Sth ed.). 






THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH 471 


measure restored. See Ac 267 Jas 11 Lu 2°6 (Anna the 
prophetess ‘of the tribe of Asher’). 


296. The Kingdom of Judah.—Very different were the 
destinies of the Southern Kingdom. Twenty kings, all 
descendants of David, for nearly 400 years, occupied the 
throne’. Some of these kings are marked with special 
commendation (Asa, Jehoshaphat, Josiah, Hezekiah), others 
Were impious and depraved (Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon). 
Some, again, whose career on the whole was praiseworthy 
committed grievous faults, faithfully recorded by the his- 
torians (Joash in the murder of Zechariah, Uzziah in the 
profanation of the sanctuary), but the Divine purpose was 
steadfastly maintained in the long preparation for the 
Messiah. See Ac 2°? R. V. and the royal genealogy in Mt 1, 
showing the line of succession even after ‘the carrying away 
to Babylon.’ 

Only once during the kingly period does there appear any serious 
effort to break the Davidie line. It was when the dread of Assyria 
had led Rezin, King of Syria, and Pekah, King of Israel, to form 
a confederacy into which they strove to force Ahaz of Judah. On 
the surface it might appear a wise policy: Damascus, Samaria, and 
Jerusalem might be strong enough to resist the dreaded power of the 
North. But for this purpose it would be necessary to overthrow 
the house of David, a scheme for which the feebleness and worth- 
lessness of its present representative seemed to afford the opportunity, 
while a pretender to the throne of Judah was ready, in the person of 
‘the Son of Tabeel,’ a personage otherwise unknown. Isaiah graphi- 
- cally shows the frustration of the design, ch. 7. 

The internal condition of the kingdom of Judah (in- 
cluding Benjamin) was on the whole prosperous; and its 
annals were for the most part uneventful. It is specially 
recorded of Asa that in addition to measures to purify the 
land from idolatry, not even sparing his own mother, he 


* It is noticeable that even when kings of Judah were cut off by 
violent deaths (Ahaziah, Joash, Amon), no attempt was made to 
interfere with the Davidie line of succession. 


472 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


built and fortified several cities. Of Jehoshaphat it is 
related that he caused a knowledge of the Law to be diffused 
throughout the kingdom, and appointed ‘ ministers’ (as we 
should say) ‘of public instruction.’ In 2 Ch 17 there is 
an interesting picture of a peaceful and prosperous com- 
munity under a wise, far-seeing king. Jehoshaphat also, 
after the example of Solomon, attempted to maintain a 
mercantile fleet at what was then the port of Ezion-geber, 
but a shipwreck frustrated his hopes. Uzziah, again, during 
his long reign, in the latter part of which his son Jotham 
was associated with him, successfully cultivated the arts 
of peace as well as of war. See 2 Ch 26, ‘He loved hus- 
bandry,’ and showed his commercial sagacity by securing 
and refortifying the port of Elath at the head of the eastern 
arm of the Red Sea, which since the days of Solomon had 
been held by Edom; and which was again captured from 
Ahaz by either Syria or Edom *, fifty years afterwards. 


297. External Dangers: Egypt.—The national existence 
of Judah was more than once threatened; but, under the 
Divine protection, the little kingdom, centred in its moun- 
tain-fortress of Jerusalem, was able to hold its own. Egypr 
at the first was its most formidable foe, being governed by 
the fierce and aggressive kings of the Bubastite or twenty- 
second dynasty. In the days of Rehoboam, Shishak 
pillaged the Temple and threatened the kingdom, but the 
proud young king, humbled before Jehovah, ‘ strengthened 
himself in Jerusalem and reigned’ (2 Ch 12}8). Zerah 
(probably Osorkon II) invaded south-western Palestine 
during the reign of Asa, as the head of a vast, almost 
innumerable horde of Ethiopians, but suffered decisive 
defeat at Mareshah, in the Shephelah or maritime plain. 


‘The victory,’ writes Canon Rawlinson, ‘had most important conse- 
quences, It put an end to Egyptian schemes of Asiatic conquest, 


® 2 Ki 16° R. V. text and margin. 


HOSTILITY OF ISRAEL TO JUDAH 473 


if not for ever, at any rate for three centuries*. It relieved Judea 
from all pressure on her southern frontier, and enabled her to turn 
her whole attention towards the north. It so weakened the Bubastite 
dynasty of the Sheshonks and Osorkons, that within a short time 
they lost their held on large portions of Egypt. Egypt grew friendly 
towards Judah instead of hostile, and the Israelite kingdom learned 
to lean upon the Pharaohs for support (see 2 Ki 17* 1871~*4 Is 20° 
30°"), instead of dreading their ambition.’ 


Confederacy against Jehoshaphat. In the south-east 
of the kingdom Jehoshaphat, in the course of his peaceful 
reign, had to encounter a confederacy of Moab, Ammon, and 
Edom ; the armies met on the slopes above En-gedi, where 
the songs of the Levites, accompanied by trumpet, harp, 
and psaltery, struck such panic into the heathen hosts that 
they turned their arms one against another, and the scene 
of encounter became memorable as the Vale of Berachah 
(‘Blessing’), or, as once in the Prophets, the valley of 
Jehoshaphat (Joel 37-17). The invasion and victory are not 
mentioned in Kings ; 2 Ch 20 gives its vivid details. 

Hostility of Israel. The enemies, however, whom 
Judah had most to fear were nearer home, and the relations 
with Ephraim, as the Northern Kingdom was distinctively 
termed, were continually strained. Abijah, the son of 
Rehoboam, had to meet the aged Jeroboam in battle, 
inflicting upon him a decisive defeat (1 Ki 15’ 2 Ch 137°). 
A more serious and prolonged strife between Asa and the 
Israelite king, Baasha, led to momentous consequences. 
Baasha was erecting a fortress at Ramah, on the frontier, 
only six miles from Jerusalem, in rivalry to the great 
stronghold of Zion. The counter-policy which Asa adopted 
was mistaken and sinful, although its immediate results 
were successful. To thwart Baasha, he subsidized the King 
of Syria to attack Baasha’s kingdom on the north, the 


* ‘Till the expedition of Neco, B.c. 609.’ 
> To be distinguished from the valley of that name formed by the 
Kidron. See Introd. to Joel. 





Israelite forces being thus drawn away from Judah. Ramah 
was dismantled ; its materials being used by Asa, as if in 
stern irony, to erect new fortresses for the southern king- 
dom. ‘Hanani the Seer’ perceived the terrible mistake 
that had been made; his strong and faithful rebuke is 
recorded in 2 Ch 167°. The king in a rage shut up the 
prophet in prison ; but the course of events only too sadly 
confirmed Hanani’s words. 

A kindred error, although at first sight more excusable, 
was the alliance between Jehoshaphat and Ahab, in the 
marriage of Jehoram, son and successor to Jehoshaphat, with 
Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Their son 
Ahaziah (or Jehoahaz, 2 Ch 21"7) was slain, together with 
Joram, son of Ahab, at Jezreel, leaving an infant son to 
inherit the throne of Judah. Hence, the usurpation and 
tyranny of the young king’s grandmother, with the miserable 
train of evils that followed. 


298. The result of heathen alliances in later days 
has already been noted. Ahaz sought, as we have seen, 
the aid of Tiglath-pileser against the kings of Israel and 
Syria ; and though, at first, he was delivered from impend- 
ing evil, he really received from the Assyrians ‘no help 
at all.” The payment of a heavy tribute was the im- 
mediate consequence ; and other results soon followed. It 
cost Hezekiah most of his treasure, and but for special 
interposition would have cost him his throne. It cost 
Manasseh his liberty (through his alliance with the Egyptian 
Tirhakah); and Josiah (who led the forees of Judah to 
resist the march of Pharaoh-Neco eastward to Carchemish), 
his life. Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, was carried captive to 
Egypt. Jehoiakim, the brother and successor of Jehoahaz, 
who owed his crown to Neco, remained for four years 
tributary to Egypt; which power in turn yielded to the 
forces of Babylon at Carchemish, so that Jehoiakim became 


DOWNFALL OF THE JEWISH KINGDOM 475 


subject to Nebuchadnezzar, who at this time succeeded his 
father Nabopolassar. Four years after the subjugation of 
Judea, Jehoiakim revolted from the Babylonian king (2 Ki 
241), who, after a while, attacked and captured him, intending 
to carry him to Babylon (2 Ch 36‘). A violent end antici- 
pated this (see p. 529 note). Jehoiakim’s son, Jeconiah 
(Coniah or Jehoiachin), succeeded him for a short time, but 
_ was deposed and carried to Babylon (597), Zedekiah, uncle 
of Jeconiah, and the third son of Josiah, being made king. 
after a solemn oath of allegiance, in his room, Tempted 
by Pharaoh-Hophra, and against the remonstrance of Jere- 
miah, he revolted, and again (587) Nebuchadnezzar came 
against Jerusalem. After a siege of eighteen months, the 
city was taken at midnight; most of the inhabitants were 
put to death, the children of Zedekiah were slain, and he 
himself (his eyes put out) was carried in chains to Babylon. 
At the same time, or a few months later, Nebuzaradan, the 
general of Nebuchadnezzar, burned the city, destroyed the 
Temple, and carried off the remainder of the sacred vessels 
and the greater part of the nation, a few poor only being 
left to till the soil. This series of events brought on by 
degrees the Babylonian Captivity, on which see the next 
chapter. 

It is remarkable that no attempt was made to colonize the 
country, as had been done in the case of Israel; the pro- 
vidence of God thus keeping it vacant, to be reoccupied by 
the people on the completion of their captivity. Jewish 
communities, properly so called, remained in Babylonia 
(see § 351, p. 530), also in Egypt (Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph 
and Pathros, Jer 44'); but in Judza the people were only 
a disorganized, desolate remnant ; the land forlornly keeping 
its ‘Sabbaths’ until those to whom God had given it should 
repossess their heritage. 


476 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 







299. Events recorded in the Books of Kings and Chronicles 
supposed to be referred to or illustrated in the Psalms. (Compare 


§§ 281, 391.) 


Historical Connexion. References. 
On Solomon being made king t Ch 29'® 
Solomon’s marriage to the vn: oa 1 Ki 3! 9” 


of the king of Egypt 
Building of the Temple and of 1 Ki6 7? 





Solomon’s House |\2Ch34 
Transfer of Ark by Solomon from | 1 Ki 8 

the Tabernacle to the Temple 2Chs5 
Heman the Ezrahite’s lament con- | 2 Ch 12 

cerning his lot after the death of 

Solomon 
Defeat of Rehoboam by Shishak | 1 Kir4*5 &e, 

|2 Ch 12° 

Jehoshaphat’s reforms » 2g 


Confederacy of Moabites, Ammon- ,, 20! 


ites and others against Jehosha- | 
| 


phat | 


Jehoshaphat’s deliverance | a Ch 2070-30 





Invasion by the Philistines of Ju- | 2 Ki 167 
dah in time of Hezekiah _2Ch 2818 
Threatened invasion by Senna- | 2 Ki 19°19 


cherib |2 Ch 32 
Overthrow of Sennacherib before | 2 Ki 19°°-*® 

Jerusalem |}2 Ch 32 

Destruction of Jerusalem 2 Ki 25 
2 Ch 34"-39 





Psalms. 


72 (Del.) 
45 (Calvin, Grotius) 


127 (Hengst., Kay) 


132 (Del., De Wette, 
Tholuck) 
88 (Del., Moll.) 


89 (Calv., Del.) 

on 

46 (Del.), 47, 48 
(Del.), 83 (Thol., 
De Wette, Hengst., 
Del.) 

46 (Del.), 47 (Del.), 
76 (Del.), ? 115 


2 (Mauser) 
80 (Calv., Hengst.) 


75 (Hengst., Moll., 
? Del.), 76 (Sept., 
Hengst., Moll., 
Del.), 87 (Thol., 
Hengst., Del.) 


74 (De Wette, Kés- 
ter), 79 (Moll.), 80 
(Sp. Comm.) 


KINGS AND CHRONICLES QUOTED IN N. T. 477 


300. Principal Quotations from and References to the 
Books of Kings in the New Testament. 


1 Ki 20 Ac 279 1336 

37, 10! Lu 11*4 

» 7? Lu 425-26 

op uaF Heb 11% 

» 18! Jas 537-18 

yy 1910=18 Rom 113-4 Jas 57-18 
2 Ki 11° Lu 9% 

» 4% Heb 11% 

aes Lu 4”7 

yy 2438 Mt 122 Ac 743 


Principal Quotations from and References to the Books of 
Chronicles in the New Testament. 


I Ch 2° Mt 1° Ta 3% 
yy gliris yy ri-22 
np RY 2 Cor 9! 
oy isha rubimen> 

2 Ch 1816 Mt 9% 


yy 2420-21 yy» 23° Lu 115 












301. COMPARATIVE CHRONOLOGICAL TA 
(APPROXIMATE) OF THE PROPHETIC WRI 


KINGS OF 
JUDAH, 





JEREMIAH, 
OBADIAH. 


B.C. 


ISAIAH, 
EZEKIEL, 
| DANIEL. 





0o-—————————— 
Amaziah, 798 
o—_—————_—__— 





780 


o-—— 
Uzziah, 770 
'760 — 


|75° 





oO —— 
74 Jotham, 735 
Ahaz, 724 





Hezekiah, 727 














Vv 4q UmosygI040 MopRayy o41]9T18] 





Jehoahaz, 608 
Jehulukim, 608) 
600 —_——- 
Jeconiah, 597 | 

Zedekiah, 597 
| 


“vider 






LvUINg 014 Jo OFT 
2a 








§9° ; 
Jerusalem de- 
stroyed, Bot 
o—— 











uonwuod 
























“qupug Jo Aara19 
-dup save, AQueaog ony, 


“spuvy sopra 0} 





The age in which Joel prophesied Is very uncertain, 
* It is held by many that there was a ‘ Second Isalah’ In the latter part of the Captivity. 


REVIVAL OF THE PROPHETIC SPIRIT 479 


Prophecy during this Period. 


302. Revival of the prophetic spirit.—It was during 
the period now under review that the spirit of prophecy 
appeared in its most signal manifestations. The succession, 
indeed, of the inspired messengers of Jehovah had never 
ceased. Prophets, like the ‘man of God,’ who protested 
against Jeroboam’s idolatry at Bethel, or Hanani, who so 
nobly rebuked Asa for confederacy with heathen Syria, or 
Zechariah, whose testimony for God in the days of Joash 
cost him his life, or Elijah and Elisha in the northern 
kingdom in the days of Ahab and his successors, performed 
each his part in appealing to the conscience of the people 
and declaring Jehovah’s will; but the first prophetic books 
date from the eighth or ninth century B.c. Of the sixteen 
prophets whose writings are included in Scripture, Jonah, 
- Amos, and Hosea addressed the Israelites before the 
destruction of Samaria, as did Isaiah and Micah in part; 
though these latter prophesied to Judah chiefly. After the 
captivity of the Ten Tribes, Jeremiah prophesied briefly 
concerning them, as did Ezekiel. Most of the prophecies, 
however, are devoted to the destinies of Judah, of heathen 
nations, and of the Church. 


303. General Lessons of Prophecy. A synoptical view 
of the prophecies of Scripture is given at the close of the 
Introduction to Malachi, § 372, grouped according to the aim 
or general purpose of each. 

1. Prophecy on the subject of heathen nations becomes 
most copious im the age when these nations seem to triumph 
most. Their victories, and the boasting idolatrous spirit 
these victories cherished, severely tried the faith of true 
believers, and seemed to shake the credit of their religion, 
Ps 79 80, Lam. The pride of the conquerors is therefore 
rebuked, and the faith of the Church confirmed by a series of 


480 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS ' 


predictions denouncing the overthrow of the very nations 
whose successes are foretold. See the prophecies of Isaiah 
to various nations; of Nahum to Assyria; of Habakkuk to 
the Chaldeans ; of Obadiah to Edom; of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
and Daniel. 

2. The gradual extension of Divine revelation is highly 
instructive. Jonah and Nahum address, in their written 
prophecies, Gentiles only. Gentiles only are also the theme 
of the prophecies of Habakkuk and Obadiah, and have large 
place in most of the other prophets. Plainly, God is not 
the God of one place or people. His providence rules over 
the earth, and all people are subject to Him. Heathen 
nations, it is true, are introduced into Scripture prophecy, 
as into Seripture history, because of their connexion with 
the Church, or chosen nation, but the lesson remains. All 
are within His government, and it is distinetly intimated 
that all are ultimately to become obedient to His law. 

3. It will be remarked, also, that the era of the decline 
and fall of the temporal kingdom (both of Israel and Judah) 
is the very era selected for the fullest and most expressive 
disclosure of a new and spiritual kingdom. As the first 
dispensation seems hastening to decay, the objects and 
promises of the second are set forth to our view. All the 
prophets who speak of the ruin speak also of the restoration, 
and blend with the restoration predicted blessings, such 
as had never yet been possessed. This arrangement clearly 
indicates the unchangeableness of the Divine counsel. And 
it does more. It displays Divine mercy. In the heart of 
the devout Jew, under a dispensation which promised 
temporal blessing as the token of Divine favour, prophecy 
and recent events must have created the utmost perplexity. 
The threatened and actual visitations were all deserved ; but 
in that fact he found no relief. To quiet the agitations 
of his afflicted faith, the evangelical prophecies were inter- — 
posed. By means of them, the hopes of the Church were 


; 


A GLORIOUS FUTURE FORETOLD 481 


sent on into the more distant future and present anxieties 
were alleviated. As, therefore, at first, prophecy lightened 
the darkness of fallen nature, so now it lightens the darkness 
of misused or neglected grace. How much even inspired 
prophets needed this consolation may be gathered from the 
Lamentations of Jeremiah and from several of the psalms: 
Pss 74 79. 

In the meantime, also, the’spirituality of true religion, 
and the nature of that work on which it is founded, are 
more clearly disclosed. The prophets bring out the true 
meaning of the ancient Law, insisting on the inferiority of 
ritual worship, and indicating with quite evangelical plain- 
ness the Divine nature, the great Sacrifice, and the ultimate 
rule of the Sufferer. 

4. The most remarkable lesson remains. While nearly 
all the prophets point to the gospel and the reign of our 
_ Lord, each speaks in language at once appropriate and 
peculiar. All foretell a glorious future, and the same 
glorious future ; but the terms in which they foretell it are 
taken either from impending evil or contemplated good. 
That future is the opposite of present calamity, or it is the 
completion of present blessing. Joel, for example, foresees 
desolating invasions of Judah, but in the end the scene of 
desolation is Egypt and Edom ; while ‘Judah shall abide for 
ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation,’ 3!°-2°, 
Amos foresees the overthrow of both Samaria and Zion; 
but beyond these calamities he beholds a different scene. 
‘In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is 
fallen... and I will build it as in the days of old,’ 94. And 
such is the character of all predictions till the end of the 
Captivity. Restoration literally is the first theme; but the 
predictions that foretell it borrow from it phraseology 
intended to express the glory of the latter days. 


304. The prophets of the period form two distinct 
ri 


482 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


groups, separated by a blank of about seventy years, includ- 
ing the whole reign of Manasseh. The former groupincludes — 
the prophecies delivered in both the Northern and Southern 
Kingdoms ; the latter has to do with the Southern Kingdom 
only. During the former, again, the power of Assyria was 
paramount in western Asia, and once and again made Judah 
tributary: the latter was marked by the growing power of 
Bapyton, which led to the Captivity. Hence the prophets 
are sometimes described as belonging respectively to the 
* Assyrian ’ and the ‘ Babylonian’ periods. 

The following tables* show their names and order, with the 
sections of the history to which they belong. 


Taste I. Assyrian (and Pre-Assyrian) Periods. 
(From the division of the kingdom to the Captivity of Israel.) 
1 Ki 12—2 Ki 17 
2 Ch 12-31 
Prophets in Israel. 
Jonau : history of his mission to Nineveh. 


Amos: prophecies affecting different nations and Israel. 
Hosea: warns Israel, foretells overthrow, and points to latter days. 


. 
: 
: 
: 











Prophets in Judah. 


JoEL: the desolation of Judah, outpouring of the Spirit, judge- 
ments against different nations. 
IsatAH: warnings and predictions, chiefly addressed to Judah ; 
prophecies against many nations. 
Micau : prophecies to Israel and Judah, and on the latter days. 
Nauvum: after the fall of Samaria foretells the destruction of 
Nineveh. 
Of these seven prophets, some account must now be 
given. 


The Book of Jonah 


Ninth century 8.c. 


305. A prophet of Israel.—Jonah succeeded Elisha as 
the messenger of God to the Ten Tribes. One glimpse of 


* For Table LI, see p. 511. 


THE BOOK OF JONAH 483 


25 


him. only is given in the history, 2 Ki 14”, where it is 
recorded that he foretold the enlarged territory and brief 
prosperity of Israel under Jeroboam II, in whose reign the 
prophet himself probably lived. He was a native of Gath- 
hepher, in Zebulun or Galilee, a few miles north of Nazareth. 





306. Outline.—This book, with the exception of ch. 2, is 
a simple narrative, and relates that Jonah, being sent on a 
mission to Nineveh (the great Assyrian metropolis, at that 
time the chief city of the Gentile world, and distinguished 
equally for magnificence and wickedness), attempts to flee 
westwards to Tarshish ; but, being overtaken by a storm in 
the Mediterranean, he is cast into the sea, swallowed by 
a great fish®, and continues in its belly three days (ch. I); 
when, earnestly praying to God, he is delivered (ch. 2). At 
the renewed command of God, he goes to Nineveh, and 
announces its destruction; upon which the Ninevites, 
believing his words, fast, pray, repent, and are graciously 
spared (ch. 3). Jonah, fearing to be thought a false prophet, 
repines at the mercy of God, and wishes for death. Leavy- 
ing the city, he is sheltered by a gourd, which, however, 
shortly withers; and Jonah, manifesting great impatience 
and rebellion, is shown, through his concern about the 
gourd, the propriety of God’s mercy to Nineveh (ch. 4). 
Historicity of the Book.—That this book is a strictly historical 
narrative is argued, not only from the plain meaning of the language 
employed, but also from the manner in which the existence and 
ministry of this prophet, together with the main facts of his history, 
are referred to by our Lord (Mt 12°°~*! 16* Lu 117°), Who, explicitly 
recognizing his prophetical office, as He does that of Elijah, Isaiah, 
and Daniel, represents his being in the belly of the sea-monster 
as a real miracle; grounds upon it as a fact the certainty of a future 


analogous event in His own history; and, after mentioning the 
prophet’s preaching at Nineveh, and the repentance of the inhabitants, 


* In Mt 124° ‘whale’ is an inexact rendering of the word for 
‘sea-monster.’ The species is undetermined in either Old or New 
Testament. 


Ii2 





concludes by declaring respecting Himself, ‘ Behold, a greater than 
Fonah is here.’ 


307. The spiritual lessons of the narrative are highly instructive. 
Our Lord was asked for ‘a sign’: He refused any but that of Jonah, 
whose preaching was its own witness and won Nineveh to repentance: 
His own generation remained unrepentant, though ‘a greater than 
Jonah is here’ (Lu 117°-°*, Mt adds the sign of ‘ three days and three 
nights in the heart of the earth’ 12°81), 

The whole narrative presents, too, the most striking contrast 
between the tender mercy of God, and the rebellion, impatience, 
and selfishness of His servant ; and further, between the readiness 
with which the Ninevites repented, at the preaching of a prophet 
who visited them as a stranger, and the manner in which the 
Israelites treated the servants of Jehovah, who lived and laboured 
amongst them. 

But, undoubtedly, the great purpose of the book was to teach the 
people of Israel that the Divine regard and compassion were not 
confined to them alone, but were extended to other subjects of God’s 
government ; to intimate to the people their high destiny, in carrying 
the tidings of salvation to the pagan world, and to keep up the 
expectation of that happy period, when repentance and the forgive- 
ness of sins should be preached in the name of Christ to all nations. 
The history is thus a real example of the genius of the gospel. | 

In this view, some expositors have regarded the history as an 
allegory of post-exilic times, setting forth the relation of Israel to 
the heathen world and the unfaithfulness of God’s people to the call 
made upon them to be witnesses for Him. On this interpretation, 
see § 139, p. 224. Whatever may be thought of it, there can be no 
doubt that the book finely illustrates the universality of the Divine 
purpose in regard to the nations, while it administers stern rebuke 
to Judaic intolerance. 

‘The Book of Jonah, writes Dean Farrar, ‘is a remarkable and 
beautiful book, full of large lessons of toleration, of pity, of the 
impossibility of flying from God, of the merciful deliverances of God, 
of the just retributions of God, of the infinite love of God, of man’s 
little hatreds shamed into fatuity, dwarfed into insignificance by 
God's abounding tenderness. It teaches us that no man can be to 
the rations a herald of God’s righteousness who is not a herald also of 
His merey.’—The Minor Prophets, Men of the Bible Series, p. 243. 























THE BOOK OF AMOS 485 


The Book of Amos 


cir, B.C. 760. 


308. Sent from Judah to Israel.—The prophets Amos 
and Hosea were commissioned to the Ten Tribes, and were 
for a time contemporaries. They prophesied during the 
reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam II, and Amos saw his first 
vision ‘two years before the earthquake,’ which happened, 
as we learn from Zechariah, in the days of Uzziah (Zee 14), 
see also Is 5”), 

He appears to have prophesied in Bethel (7'°}3), but he) 
_ did not belong to the kingdom of Israel, being an inhabitant,_ Gtr, 
and probably a native, of Tekoa, a city about twelve miles / eh fi 

south of Jerusalem, on the borders of the vast open pastures/ 
(‘wilderness’) of the hill country of Judah. By profession( 
_he was a herdsman, and a dresser of sycomore trees (7"): ‘ No } 
prophet, neither a prophet’s son,’ ie. not trained to that 
officé, but called by an irresistible Divine commission (3° 7!°) 
to prophesy unto Israel. This fact he explicitly declares 
when Amaziah, the idolatrous priest in Bethel, charged him 
with conspiring against Jeroboam. His previous occupation 
ought to have removed all suspicion of political connexion 
with the house of David, and to us it illustrates the grace 
which selects its ministers ‘from the tents of the shepherd, 
as well as from the palace of the sovereign,’ qualifying each 
for the duties to which he is called (see 1 Cor 177-5), Amos 
withdrew from Bethel unmolested, and, as it has been said, 
‘went home to Tekoa to write his prophecies.’ 


Amos speaks of himself as the author (7° 8-2), and his prophetic 
character is established by the testimony of Stephen the first martyr, 
and James (Ac 7#*-45 15-17), as well as by the exact fulfilment of his 
predictions. The style of Amos is simple, but by no means deficient 
in picturesque beauty. His manner of life may be traced in the 
illustrations he selects ; which are taken mostly from rural employ- 
ments: many of them are original and striking, while all have the 


486 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS > 


life and freshness of nature. His knowledge of the events of remote 


antiquity (9°), and of others more recent, not elsewhere recorded 
(6*), the regular course of his thoughts, and the correctness of his 
language, all tend to show that the responsible and often dangerous 
(32) occupation of a shepherd was still as favourable to mental 
culture as in the days of Moses and David. 

The people of Israel were now at the summit of worldly prosperity, 
but were rapidly filling up the measure of their sins. The mission of 
¢FaAmos was, therefore, rather to threaten than to console. He rebukes, 
among other things, the corruption of their manners, which kept 
pace with their prosperity : he charges the great men with partiality 
as judges, and violence towards the poor: and he foretells, as a 
punishment from God, the captivity of the Ten Tribes in a foreign 
country; a prediction accomplished about sixty years afterwards, 
when Shalmaneser and Sargon, kings of Assyria, destroyed the 
kingdom. 

309. Outline.—The book begins with a ‘text,’ quoted 
also by Joel (31°) and by Jeremiah (25°°), and proceeds 
to announce Divine judgements against the states around 
Judah, and against the two Hebrew nations themselves 
(12). The prophet then sets before the Ephraimites their 
sins in detail, showing in three addresses, each begin- 
ning with the summons Hear ye this word, what Jehovah 
had done to bring them back to Himself; how they may 
return to Him ; and the chastisements which were in reserve 
for their obduracy (3-6). This is followed by five symbolical 


visions, representing successive punishments to be inflicted - 


on the Israelites, each more severe than the preceding. The 
certainty and the near approach of their ruin is declared 
(8-98). 

But, beyond the punishment of the people’s sins, the 
prophet is commissioned to foretell new things in the distant 
future. Jehovah will not utterly destroy the house of Israel; 
but, after sifting and cleansing it among the nations, will 
raise it again to more than its former glory, in the kingdom 
of the Messiah (9'!~)). In the blessings of this kingdom 
the Gentiles are also to share (see Ac 15'®-!"). The book is 


remarkable for the explicitness with which it recognizes the — 





THE BOOK OF HOSEA 487 


universal sovereignty of Jehovah (cf. Ro 37°). The title of 
God most frequently employed is ‘The Lord (Adonai) 
Jehovah.’ 

After the third vision the narrative of Amaziah’s attempt to 
ruin the prophet (7'° 7°) is introduced, showing how Amos 
vindicated his prophetic mission, and predicted the doom of 
his calumniator. Between the fourth and fifth visions, 
again, there is a stirring denunciation, especially against 
fraudulent commercial dealings, with the renewed appeal, 
Hear ye this (8*™). 


A special feature in the Book of Amos is the extent to which his 
language and allusions imply a familiarity with the books of Moses. 
See 210 (Dt 29°) ; 4m 10 (Dt 450 30”) ; 42 (Dt 297°) F 52 (Dt aaS3) ; 513 
(Num 35%). 


References to Amos in the New Testament. 


310. There are citations by Stephen in his address to the Sanhedrin, 
and by James in the Council of Jerusalem; Ac 7'* 15118 In 
the former, the extension of the phrase ‘beyond Damascus’ to 
“beyond Babylon’ is very noticeable. In the latter, the ‘residue of 
men’ is from the LXX, the Hebrew reading being, as in A.V. and R.V., 
‘the remnant of Edom’: ‘ Man’ and ‘Edom’ are alike in the Hebrew 
eonsonants. Whichever reading be adopted, the testimony of the 
prophet to the universality of the gospel is very striking. 

There is also a remarkable coincidence between 37 and Rey 10’, 
declaring the revelation of the mystery of God to the prophets. 


The Book of Hosea 


B.C. 785-740. 

311. A Prophet of Israel.—The prolonged ministry of 
this prophet was confined to the Northern Kingdom, to which 
he evidently belonged, in the days of King Jeroboam II, and 
_ afterwards. His name. signifying ‘Salvation,’ is identical 
with the early name of Joshua (Num 8?*-1), and with that of 
the last King of Israel (usually written Hoshea). It is held 


Sa 
488 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


on good grounds that he prophesied at least until the days of 
Menahem. 

Burden of his message.— Hosea addresses the Ten Tribes 
under the titles of Israel, of Samaria, which had been, since 
the days of Omri, their capital, and of Ephraim, the most 
distinguished of the tribes, to which Jeroboam, their first 
king, belonged. The spirit of idolatry manifested in his days 
at Dan and Bethel, had now been continued in various forms 
for more than 150 yeays, and had diffused every form of vice 
among all classes. The last short interval of outward 
prosperity under Jeroboam II was already beginning to yield 
to general anarchy and decay. The kings and princes were 
murderers and profligates (7°~*): the idolatrous priests had ~ 
spread their shameful festivals and their deceitful oracles 





time: while the whole nation relied entirely on human help 
(58 78-12 8-19 rol’, &e.): worldly and sinful objects were 
pursued with the same eagerness by Ephraim as by Canaan 
(127-8): a listless security blinded all minds (5* 12°): giving 
place in the moment of danger to a repentance merely of the 
lips (718): and, what was the root of all the other evils, God 
and His word were forgotten (41~® 81). 

This condition the prophet most earnestly condemns, 
using the facts of his own sad domestic history to reprove 
their idolatry. With keen and sorrowful emphasis, intensi- 
fied by bitter experience, he describes their departure from 
God as adultery—the violation of a solemn covenant, and 
the alienation of affection from God. These lessons were 
illustrated in the assassination of four kings successively, 
and in the general disorders of the state. 

For probably sixty years these warnings and appeals 
were continued, without success:—a pathetic example of 
persevering fidelity under the greatest discouragements. 


PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF HOSEA 489 


312. Outline.—The book may be divided into two parts, 
comprising, (1) A Prersonat Narrative, chs. 1-3; and (2) 
Proruetic Discoursss, chs. 4-14. 


The History and its application.—The former part has been 
regarded by many as wholly symbolical, in accordance with other 
Old Testament imagery drawn from conjugal relations, Eze 16, &c. ; 
but it is now generally thought to have been based upon the prophet’s 
own experience. It relates how Hosea had married one Gomer ?, 
daughter of Diblaim, who bore him two sons and a daughter, but 
turned out to be unchaste. She forsook him for a paramour, who 
treated her harshly, and in the end sold her into slavery. The 
prophet, loving her notwithstanding all, redeemed her from bondage 
and gave her again a place in his house, where she sat desolate ‘many 
days.’ All this is used as a picture of the relationship between 
Jehovah and His people, setting forth His own tender love, repaid 
by their rebellion and infidelities, followed by their chastisement and 
rejection, with their eventual repentance and restoration. These three 
chapters are an abridgement of the whole book; and the gracious 
promises which they contain, and which are not noticed in the seven 
following chapters, reappear in the eleventh, and close the prophecy. 

The second part contains several prophetic discourses evidently 
delivered at different times. Separate beginnings of these discourses 
may be traced, 4}, 51, 8!, 9}, 1112, and 144. It begins with rebukes and 
threatenings, including a warning to Judah to leave Israel ‘alone’ 
415-17, i. e. not to share her guilt; but by degrees the horizon becomes 
clear, and the glory of the latter times shines forth with unclouded 
lustre. 

Various attempts have been made to classify the latter chapters 
of the book chronologically, but without success. The general drift 
is clear, but there is no other indication of the order of the several 
prophecies than their place in the book. \ 

Considering the long period to which the ministry ok Hosea 
extended, it may appear surprising that his writings are comprised 
within so small a compass: but it must be remembered that, as in 
the case of others of the prophets, there is no reason to suppose that 
this book contains all that he uttered. Such portions only of his 
inspired communications are recorded, as the Holy Spirit saw fit to 
preserve for the benefit of the Jews, and of the world. 

The language of Hosea is peculiarly difficult. His style is very 


® It is an incidental objection to the allegorical view, that no 
symbolical meaning can be attached to the appellations Gomer and 
Diblaim. They are simply ordinary names. 


490 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


conci.e and abrupt, abounding with figures and metaphors, which — 
are often much intermixed; and the transitions from one sub- — 
ject and figure to another are frequent and sudden. The particular 
occasions on which his prophecies were delivered are in themselves 
rarely obvious, and are never specified by the author. Some parts 
of them, however, are peculiarly pathetic, animated, and sublime. 
The leading note of his utterances is an impassioned tenderness, in 
harmony with the personal experiences which he describes. 


313. His chief predictions.—Among the more remark- 
able of his predictions are those in which he foretells the 
downfall of Samaria, with the captivities and sufferings of 
Israel, 55-7 3-6-1 1o0°§ (where ‘Jareb’ is an appellative, 
probably ‘the combatant king’: so 5'8 13") ; the deliverance 
of Judah (fulfilled in the destruction of Sennacherib’s army), 
17, compare 2 Ki 19*°; the punishment of Judah and her 
cities, 51° 8'*; the eventual conversion of Israel, and its 
union with Judah, 3*°; while the final ransom of God’s 
people from death and the grave is celebrated in the loftiest 
strains, 110-11 223 y3l4 y44.8, 

All these predictions are not equally clear: but the 
evangelical tenor of most, nothing can exceed. They are 
blended in the original with a form of phraseology closely 
allied to the phraseology of the ancient Law. To the Law 
the prophet appears specifically to allude (8'*), as toa written 
document or series of documents: ‘I wrote for him the ten 
thousand things of My law, but they were counted as a 
strange thing®’ (R.V. marg.). See § 237(3), p. 390. 

Chapters 6, 13, 14 are peculiarly rich in statements adapted to 


awaken those feelings of penitence and faith which become the 
Christian and the Church in every age. , 





Citations of Hosea in the New Testament. 


314. The Sonof Jehovah called out of Egypt (111) Mt 2°. See § 157. 
Rejection and restoration (1° 2%5) Ro 9%-*6 1 Pet 2!; the great 
declaration ‘mercy rather than sacrifice’ (6°) Mt 9! 127 and the 


* For an able and convincing exposition of this important passage, 
see Dr. Robertson’s Early Religion of Israel, pp. 342-4. 


THE BOOK OF JOEL 491 


promised destruction of death (13!*) 1 Cor 15°°*°. See also references 
that imply familiarity with the prophet’s language, in Mt 20! and 
parallels (62) Lu 217, (97) Lu 23°°, and Rey 61° (10%). 


The Book of Joel 


Eighth century B. c. 


315. A prophet in Jerusalem.—Joel, ‘Jehovah is God,’ 
was the son of Pethuel (11), the only fact of his personal 
history which the Scriptures directly mention. Several 
persons at different periods bore the same name*®. From 
references in his book it is inferred that he was an inhabitant 
of Jerusalem, and a prophet of the Southern Kingdom, not 
a priest (11814 21’), 

The date of Joel has been much discussed. The chief 
fact bearing upon it is that his prophecy mentions among 
the enemies of his country the Pheenicians, Philistines, 
Edomites, and Egyptians, making no reference to Assyrians 
and Babylonians, a clear indication that he wrote either 
before these powers had become formidable, or after they had 
ceased to be so. He must have been, therefore, among the 
earliest or the latest of the prophets. The former view has 
been most generally held and appears to be correct. The 
whole book indicates, moreover, that the prophet lived at 
a time when the people of Judah had not fallen into that 
extreme depravity which, in later times, drew down upon 
them such heavy chastisements.. These several points indi- 
cate his period as somewhere between the reigns of Joash 
and Uzziah. He was contemporary with Hosea and Amos; 
and as they addressed Israel, so he addressed Judah. 

316. Outline.—In the first chapter (1-2!4), the prophet 
delineates, with most graphic force, an impending devasta- 
tion, successive armies of locusts (1+), and burning drought 


* Samuel’s eldest son, 1 Sa 82. See also 1 Ch 6° 7° 11°8 157 277°. 


492 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


(verses 18, Ig), representing in this form, probably, the 
calamities consequent on coming invasions. 

He then, in the second chapter, exhorts to penitence, 
fasting, and prayer (2-1), promising the removal of these 
evils, and rich evangelical blessing. He foretells in the 
clearest terms the effusion of the Holy Spirit (2*~*! Ac 2!~*! 
101), and the ‘terrible day of the Lord’ (2*' 3% ef. Mt 24”). 


In the former chapter the delineation is evidently literal, depicting 
the most grievous form of calamity that can befall an agricultural 
people. The question is whether in the second chapter also the same 
interpretation holds, or whether the locust-plague is symbolically 
used for a hostile invasion (cf. Rev 9°") ; or for repeated invasions, 
as those by Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchad- 
nezzar ; or even for the subjugation of the country by yet later foes. 
Others, as Olshausen, combine these views, and deem it a description 
of impending calamity generally, both literal and figurative. ‘ Locust’ 
is certainly used with this double reference in Scripture; and in the 
second chapter expressions are used with apparently a double aspect, 
as like expressions were afterwards used by our Lord, Mt 24, referring 
to an earlier and a final visitation. Indeed, as all great and Divine de- 
liverances prefigure or represent deliverance through the Cross, so all 
great punitive visitations supply figures for describing the Judgement. 


In ch. 3, he foretells the assembling of the nations in the 
Valley of Jehovah’s Judgement (Jehoshaphat *) and their 
destruction, the establishment of Jerusalem as the holy city, 
and the glorious state of peace and prosperity to be enjoyed 
by the Church in the days of the Messizh. 


The style of Joel is remarkably clear and elegant ; obscure only 
towards the close, where its beauties are shaded by allusions to 
events not yet accomplished. The double destruction foretold in 
chs. I, 2, 11, the first by the locusts, the second by the enemies of 


whom they were harbingers, is painted in terms that are reciprocally — 


metaphorical, and admirably adapted to the twofold character of the 
description. 


* Not the valley usually so named ; but the scene of Jehoshaphat’s 
victory over the confederated trans-Jordanic tribes, 2 Ch 20. This 
was in the wilderness of Judah, below En-gedi. See p. 473.: 






a 


——————E 


eee ee ess: 


THE BOOK OF ISAIAH 493 


Joel and Amos.—The words of Joel 31° furnish a key-note 
to Am 17; another indication of Joel’s earlier date. On 
the contrary and less probable supposition, Joel takes the 
announcement of impending doom from Amos. 


References to Joel in the New Testament. 


317. Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, quotes Joel’s prediction 
respecting ‘the last days’ 2°? as fulfilled in the gift of the Holy 
Spirit, Ac 2'1. The closing words of this prophecy are quoted by 


Paul, Ro 1o'*. 
The locust-symbol of a destroying army, chs. 1, 2, is reproduced in 


the Apocalypse, Rev 97°. 


The Book of Isaiah 


B.C. 740-701. 


318. Isaiah’s Personal History.—Isaiah, the greatest 
of the prophets, was called to the prophetic office in the 
reign of Uzziah, King of Judah, and continued to prophesy 
during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, perhaps 
also during a portion of the reign of Manasseh. He was 
statesman as well as prophet ; and we find him repeatedly 
speaking and acting in connexion with public affairs. Of 
his father, Amoz, nothing is known, though Jewish tradition 
makes him a brother of King Amaziah; from the same 
doubtful source comes the legend that Isaiah was put to 
death by Manasseh, being sawn asunder for contradicting 
or adding to the Mosaic Law ® (Is 6! compared with Ex 33"). 
His wife is styled by him the ‘ prophetess’ (8°), and they 
had two sons, whose names and history illustrate and 
enforce his predictions (7° 8°“). His name means Salvation 


® This account of Isaiah’s martyrdom cannot be definitely traced 
beyond the second century a.p. There may, however, be reference to 
it in Heb 1137, The legend is given in detail in the book entitled The 
Ascension of Isaiah. See Deane’s Pseudepigrapha, 1891, p. 236 sq. 


494 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


of Jehovah, and is, in a large degree, descriptive of his 
character and writings. 

The duration of his ministry is uncertain. From the 
last year of Uzziah, when the prophet received his Divine 
commission, to the fourteenth (or perhaps twenty-fourth *) 
of Hezekiah, when Isaiah’s name last occurs in the history 
(2 Ki 20! Is 381), was a period of forty years, and, according 
to the above-mentioned Jewish tradition, he survived till 
the days of Manasseh. 


When Isaiah entered on his office, the throne was occupied by 
Uzz1auH, or Azariah, a king whose general character was that of 
integrity and piety ; and under whose reign the nation enjoyed great 
temporal prosperity. He was a worshipper of the true God ; though 
he failed to remove the asherahs and high places established for 
idolatrous worship. Uzziah was succeeded by his son JorHam, whose 
general character was like that of his father ; but the idolatrous altars 
were still allowed to remain, and owing to the increase of luxury and 
sensual indulgence, true piety declined more and more. The next 
king, AHaz, was a wicked and idolatrous prince; and his reign was 
very disastrous. The law of God was broken in the most reckless 
manner, and the Temple not only defaced and plundered, but, at last, 
shut up. During this period, Isaiah came forward publicly, as 
a reprover of sin; but his counsels and warnings were disregarded. 
Hezexraw’s character was the reverse of that of his father. He 
abolished idolatry, restored the Temple and worship of Jehovah, and 
relieved the people from foreign oppression. He treated Isaiah with 
great respect ; and during the agitating occurrences of his reign, the 
prophet had an important part in directing the public counsels, 


319. The life of Isaiah includes the last years of the 
Northern Kingdom of Israel. Under Jeroboam II, the 
contemporary of Uzziah, it had flourished; but for several 
years it had been unsettled, one military adventurer after 
another seizing the crown; and at length, in the sixth 
year of Hezekiah, Samaria was overthrown, the inhabitants 
of the land being removed. 


His prophecies, however, have little reference to the condition ot 
Samaria, and are directed chiefly to Judah. 


* See § 320, 5. 


THE BOOK OF ISAIAH 495 


The relation of Judah to neighbouring nations it is important to 
remember. With Moab, Edom, and the Philistines, Judah had 
continued conflicts. Though within the boundaries of Judah, and 
subdued by David, they were constantly endeavouring to maintain 
an independent position ; and during the reign of godless, feeble kings, 
their efforts were generally successful. Assyria had increased in 
strength, and was extending her conquests on all sides. Egypt had 
been subdued by Ethiopia, and both countries were united under one 
dynasty. Assyria and Egypt were both preparing for a coming 
struggle, and each in succession sought the alliance of both Judah 
‘and Israel, as a bulwark against the other. The right policy, in 
regard either to the temporal interests or to the religious character of 
the Jewish kingdoms, was clearly to stand aloof from both. Babylon 
was at this time an inferior kingdom, struggling against Assyria for 
independence, and rising slowly into importance. Hence the policy 
of Merodach-baladan in sending an embassy to Hezekiah: hence, also, 
the need of Divine teaching, to foretell the future power of Babylon, 
and the subjugation by it of the kingdom of Judah a century and 
a half after Isaiah’s time (39°). 

The most remarkable events of this period are, the invasion of Judah 
by the combined forces of Syria and Israel in the days of Ahaz; 
. twelve years later the invasions of Shalmaneser and Sargon, which 
issued in the overthrow of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes; and 
the two Assyrian invasions of Judah, the second and more formidable 
of which ended in the destruction of Sennacherib’s army. Within 
the same period fall the two most remarkable epochs of chronology— 
A.U.C., B.C. 753, and the era of Nabonassar, B.c. 747. Just before the 
days of Isaiah is the date of the first Olympiad, B.c. 776. See, on 
these dates, Part I, § 201. 


320. Outline.—The Book of Isaiah falls into two dis- 
tinct portions, containing thirty-nine and twenty-seven 
chapters respectively. To these a separate consideration 
must be given. 

First Part, 1-39.—This contains prophetic addresses 
and warnings of different dates, many of them bearing im- 
mediately on the morals, piety, and welfare of the nation; 
while others relate to the heathen nations by which Judah 
was surrounded and brought into conflict. This part of the 
book may be divided into five sections. 

1. Reproofs, warnings, and promises addressed to Judah 


Bai Te " 
496 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


and Israel, chiefly during the early part of the prophet’s 
ministry, including, after a prefatory chapter (1), the great 
prophetic discourse (2-4), founded probably, as in Mie 41-4, 
upon a text from an older prophecy. The parable of the 
Vineyard follows, with solemn warnings of judgement (5). 
The section is closed by Isaiah’s account of his call and 
commission (6). 

2. Account of the alliance of Syria with the Northern 
Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) against Judah in the days of 
King Ahaz, who looks to Assyria for aid—a policy stead- 
fastly denounced by Isaiah (7-9"). The ‘sign’ of Im- 
manuel given to reassure the king and people. Assyria 
to be overthrown, Israel exalted (9*-10), a prophecy in- 
cluding the Ten Tribes. The close of chapter 10 gives 
a graphic description of the advance of the Assyrian host 
(under Sargon) in its futile attempt upon Jerusalem. The 
power of Assyria, like a forest of Lebanon in its might and 
pride, to’be overcome by the sprout from the stem of Jesse 
(r0*°—-r11), type of the Messiah Who will establish a King- 
dom of Peace, and awaken a grateful song of praise 
(118-12). 

3. The Ten Burdens : a series of predictions regarding 
neighbouring hostile nations; in which are described the 
sins and destruction of Babylon (13-14%); Philistia 
(1428-32); Moab (15, 16); Damascus, ie. Syria (17); 
Ethiopia and Egypt (18-20); the ‘ Wilderness of the Sea,’ 
i.e. Babylon (21!~1°); Dumah, i.e. Edom (21"-!*); Arabia 
(218-17); the ‘Valley of Vision,’ i.e. Jerusalem (22); and 
Tyre (23). 

The nations here named are ‘specimens of the heathen world 
as regards their attitude towards the Kingdom of God on earth,’ 
including Jerusalem, as exposed by its sins to judgement. The 


graphic description of Ethiopia as ‘the land rustling with wings’ 
(R. V.) refers to its swarms of insect-life* (Heb. tsiltsal; ef. the word 


® Delitzsch remarks (Comm. in loc.) that ‘the prophet, in association 
with the swarms of insects, has in his mind the motley swarms of 


‘BURDENS’ AND ‘WOES’ OF ISAIAH 497 


tsetse, the native name of Glossina morsitans). The ‘Sea’ poetically indi- 
cates the Euphrates, and the wilderness is the great Babylonian plain 
abutting to ihe south-west on the Arabian Desert. Jerusalem, a 
‘valley,’ because encircled by mountains (see Ps 1257), was the home 
of prophecy—an aggravation of its unfaithfulness. 

In connexion with these ‘burdens’ uttered at various times are 
two remarkable episodes—the appearance of the prophet, barefooted 
and stripped of his outer garment, as a type of the shame to which 
dependence on Egypt would bring the people (20); the deposition 
of Shebna, steward of the royal household, and the appointment of 
Eliakim in his place (225), 

Most remarkable, however, among these multiplied predictions is 
that of the final reconciliation of Israel with Assyria and Egypt in 
the Kingdom of Jehovah (1978-5), 


4. The chapters that follow (24-27) are undated and have no definite 
historical background*. In a strain of sublimity unsurpassed they 
portray the judgements of Jehovah against the world’s sin, with the 
security and triumph of His people. This part of the prophecy— 
‘Tsaiah’s Apocalypse’ as it has well been called—has afforded to the 
Church of all ages many of its richest promises and tenderest 
eonsolations»®, From these, we pass in chs. 28-31 to a renewed 
‘Book of Woes ’—against profligate and doomed Samaria (28), against 
David’s ‘ Ariel,’ Jerusalem, the ‘ Hearth of God,’ where His altar fires 
burned (29), and against the nations of heathendom with all who 
seek their alliance (30, 31). Then comes the vision of a kingdom 
of righteousness and peace (32), followed again by a tremendous out- 
burst against Assyria, now gathering for the onslaught upon Judah 
(33), and against Edom (34)—the very climax of terrible predictions. 
In lively contrast with all this, the long series of prophecies closes 
(35) with a picture of the blessedness prepared for ‘the redeemed’ 
and ‘the ransomed of Jehovah,’ when sorrow and sighing shall flee 
_ away. 


5. History of the invasion of Sennacherib, with the de- 
struction of his army in answer to Hezekiah’s prayer. 
Hezekiah’s sickness, his miraculous recovery, and the pro- 
longation of his life for fifteen years (36-38). Visit of 
ambassadors from Merodach-baladan, King of Babylon, 
people of this great kingdom, which were fabulously strange to an 
Asiatic.’ 

_ * Excepting one brief reference to Moab, 251, 
> See 268 ‘perfect peace’ ; 26* ‘a Rock of Ages’; 2619-29, 


Kk 


as 


498 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


ostensibly to congratulate the king on his recovery, possibly 
also to inquire into the astronomical phenomenon ® ; but prin- 
cipally, no doubt, to cement the alliance against Assyria. 
Isaiah is inspired to perceive the ominous character of the 
alliance, and predicts in explicit terms the Basyionray 
Captivity of a far-off day (39). 


In the narration of these successive events there is a chronological 
difficulty, which recent discoveries in the Assyrian records have gone 
far to solve. In ch. 36! and the parallel passage 2 Ki 18 ‘Senna- 
cherib, King of Assyria’ is said to have invaded Judah in the fourteenth 
year of Hezekiah. But the fourteenth year of Hezekiah corresponds 
with the tenth year of Sargon, the father of Sennacherib. Hence 
some critics have supposed that for ‘fourteenth’ we should read 
‘twenty-fourth.’ But it now appears from the monuments that there 
was a prior invasion of Judah by Sargon which created great alarm, 
but came to nothing (to this probably the vivid deseription in 10®*-** 
refers). Some transcriber may have added the name Sennacherib 
to the words ‘ the king of Assyria.’ Or it may be (less probably) that 
in this first invasion Sennacherib was his father’s general. In any 
case an interval must be placed between 36' and 36%, the details that 
follow belonging to the second and more eventful invasion. 

It must also be observed that the illness of Hezekiah occurred 
before this invasion of Sennacherib, although narrated afterit. For 
as the king lived for fifteen years after his recovery (38°), and reigned 
in all for twenty-nine years (2 Ki 187), the illness mtist have occurred 
in his fourteenth regnal year ; contemporaneously (according to the 
view above given) with Sargon’s abortive attack. See CHronoLogicaL 
APPENDIX. 


321. Second Part, 40-66.—This division of the book 
differs from the former in being a continuous prophetic 
discourse, of which the starting-point is the Babylonian 
Captivity, as predicted in ch. 39° §. But while the leading 
theme is the deliverance from exile, the inspired seer 
goes on to dwell upon the accomplishment of redemp- 
tion, and the triumphs of God’s Kingdom to the end of 
time. 


* For an account of the sun-dial of Ahaz, on which the shadow went 
back, see Smith’s Dict. Bible, second ed., art. ‘ Dial.’ 


THE SECOND PART OF ISAIAH 499 


The main theme of the entire book, in both its divisions, 
is thus ‘the grace of God to Israel in successive testing- 
times.’ These times are noted in the historical sections— 
the deliverance from Syria and Ephraim in the days of Ahaz 
(7, 8), the rescue from the yet more formidable power of 
Assyria, foreshadowed to Ahaz and more fully declared 
to Hezekiah (10°-12, &c.); passing to the greatest deliver- 
ance of all, that from Babylon, which power, in ‘the per- 
spective of prophecy,’ was one with Assyria (13, 27, 40, &c.); 
the whole, by many links, being connected with the future. 
great Redemption. There is thus a sublime unity of con- 
ception pervading the book. It exhibits the world-powers 
in their conflict with the Kingdom of God, which triumphs 
in the end, and wins the whole earth to its beneficent 
sway. 


Many modern critics, however, hold that the passages which relate 
to the deliverance from Babylon were the work of a later prophet, to 
whom they attribute the chapters from 40 to the end. The opinion 
has so far gained ground that to speak of ‘Second Isaiah’ has become 
almost a commonplace of critical and general literature *. While, to 
a large extent, this view is associated with outspoken or tacit denial 
of the predictive element in prophecy, there are many critics who 
disclaim such denial, and yet hold to the existence of this Deutero- 
Isaiah. A brief reference to this question is therefore necessary. 

This broad severance of the book into two sections, the one written 
by Isaiah, the other by an unnamed prophet of the Exile, may be 
considered apart from that further critical dismemberment with which 
it is too often associated. In the one case we are dealing with a solid 
body of opinion ; in the other with varying speculations which split 
up Isaiah into anonymous fragments >. 

External evidence is all in favour of the unity of the book. Until 
within the last hundred years, the unhesitating belief of the Jewish 


® Otherwise ‘the Deutero-Isaiah,’ ‘the Babylonian Isaiah,’ ‘the 
Great Unnamed’ (Ewald). 

» See, e. g., Isaiah printed in Seven Colours (Haupt), ed. Cheyne, 1808. 
Critical sagacity is even supposed to be so fine as to discriminate 
‘between different authors in one and the same verse. Some passages 
in the First Part, alleged to be later than Isaiah’s time, are 13-1476 
211! 24-27 34 35 36-39. 

Kk2 





ee 


500 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


and Christian Church (with the doubtful exception of the Jewish 
writer Aben Ezra in the twelfth century a.p.), as well as the implicit 
authority of Curisr and His Apostles, has assigned the whole to 
Isaiah the son of Amoz*. The LXX and other versions give no hint 
of dual authorship. The ancient belief is well expressed by the son 
of Sirach, who writes (Ecclus 48-25 R.V.), when recounting the annals 
of Hezekiah’s day, that Isaiah the prophet 


‘Saw by an excellent spirit what should come to pass at the last ; 
And he comforted them that mourned in Sion. 

He showed the things that should be to the end of time, 
And the hidden things or ever they came.’ 


In the New Testament, as shown below, the references to ‘Isaiah the 
prophet’ are divided almost equally between the two parts of the 
book, those to the latter part being slightly the more numerous. 
Now, the main problem, lies in the change of place, time, and situation 
which confronts us in ch. 40. The final prophecy of Isaiah, against 
Sennacherib, 377, is uttered B.c. 701: the prophecies which begin 
with ch. 40 seem to be addressed to the captives in Babylon in the 
later years of their exile, say 598-550. If Isaiah wrote them, instead 
of the prophet of righteousness to his own generation he has become 
the seer, carried forward in vision a century and a half, and writing 
what he saw as a bequest for his exiled nation. 

Dr. (afterwards Dean) Bradley, before the University of Oxford in 
1875, sketches this view (without pronouncing judgement upon it) in 
graphic language: ‘The Isaiah,’ he says, ‘of the vexed and stormy 
times of Ahaz and Hezekiah is supposed in his later days to have been 
transplanted by God's Spirit into a time and a region other than his 
own. ... He is led in prolonged and solitary vision into a land that 
he has never trodden, and to a generation on whom he has never 
looked. The familiar scenes and faces, among which he had lived 
and laboured, have grown dim and disappeared. All sounds and 
voices of the present are hushed, and the interests and passions into 
which he had thrown himself with all the intensity of his race and 


* There is a list of prophetic books in a treatise of the Talmud 
(Baba Bathra) in which the order is given thus: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
Isaiah, the Minor Prophets; as though Isaiah, at least in part, came 
after Ezekiel. The order, however, appears to be not of date but of 
length. See Dr. C. H. H. Wright in Smith’s Dict. Bible, vol. i (2nd ed.), 
p. 1451. 

> Sermon reported in the Oxford Undergraduates’ Journal, February, 
1875, and quoted by Professor Cheyne in an Essay supplementary to 
his Isaiah (vol. ii. p. 227, 3rd ed.). 


THE PREDICTIVE ELEMENT 501 


character move him no more. The present has died out of the horizon 
of his soul’s vision. . . . The voices in his ears are those of men unborn, 
and he lives a second life among events and persons, sin and suffer- 
ing, and fears and hopes, photographed sometimes with the minutest 
accuracy on the sensitive and sympathetic medium of his own spirit ; 
and he becomes the denouncer of the special sins of a distant 
generation, and the spokesman of the faith and hope and passionate 
yearning of an exiled nation, the descendants of men living when he 
wrote in the profound peace of a renewed prosperity.’ 

But, it may fairly be asked, is there anything impossible in this, 
if the prediction of the future be once admitted as an element in prophecy ? 
The answer given is—not impossible, but so exceptional as to be, 
failing conclusive evidence to the contrary, highly improbable, and 
it is held that tradition is not conclusive, especially as these chapters 
nowhere claim Isaiah’s authorship, and are indeed separated from his 
undoubted oracles by an historical narrative of some length. 

As a rule, the inspired Old Testament seers took their stand upon 
their own times, and addressed their contemporaries (see § 145). 
There can be no doubt that, if the fortieth and eight following chapters 
had come to us anonymously, without any save internal indications of 
authorship and date, they would have been assigned to the time of the 
Captivity. When in ch. 17° the prophet bewails the desolation of 
Judah, we know that he is describing the existing condition of the 
land; and when we come upon an entirely similar passage in ch. 
64111 it would be natural to conclude that we have there also the 
words of a contemporary. But the unity of Isaiah would imply that 
the prophet’s position in the former cases was aclual, in the latter 
ideal. 

Then, again, the mention of Cyrus by name (4478 45!) is unlike the 
usual scope of prophecy. There is one parallel instance—but only one— 
in the reference to Josiah, 1 Ki 13”, nearly three hundred years before 
that king’s time. These instances may extend our conception of 
scripture prophecy, but assuredly do not invalidate it. It must be 
remembered that God Himself, by the mouth of Isaiah, appeals to 
former declarations regarding the future now being fulfilled, in proof 
of His own claim to know the end from the beginning. See 4174 
8d 43° Sd 447 84. 4519.21 4610 sa. 483 8 Tf these were simply ‘ prophecies 
after the event, the challenge fails. 

There are many incidental considerations bearing upon the main 
issue. Words and phrases common to the two sections, and those 
that are peculiar to one or the other, have been much discussed. 
Among these, the special appellation of Jehovah, ‘the Holy One of 
Israel,’ is remarkably characteristic of both, and is hardly found 
elsewhere in Scripture. Again, while it is urged on the one hand 


502. HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


that the later chapters contain allusions to facts and incidents of 
Babylonian life, as if from an author conversant with them, it is 
replied on the other that the local colouring is mostly, and very 
strikingly, that of Judea. Rocks, mountains, and forests are in the 
prophet’s landscapes ; the horizon of his view extends to the islands 
of the sea; the flocks are those of Kedar; the rams those of Nebaioth; 
the trees are the cedar and the acacia, the pine and the box, with the 
oaks of Bashan and the woodland heights of Carmel. In particular, 
that terrible section which describes the lingering idolatries of Judah 
(56, 57) places the scene of them ‘in the torrent-valleys, under the 
cliffs of the rocks, among the smooth stones of the stream.’ ‘As there 
are,’ writes Dean Payne Smith, ‘no torrents, but only canals, in the 
flat, alluvial soil of Babylonia, so there are no torrent-beds there; but 
these form a common feature of the landscape in Palestine and all 
mountainous countries*.’ In fact, the whole description of idolatrous 
practices given in this section is so inapplicable to all that we know 
of Babylonia and the Jewish exiles, that it must be referred to 
another place and period, whatever may be said of the rest. 

It is not pretended that the subject is free from difficulty. But 
whatever conclusion be adopted on a candid consideration of the 
evidence, it is well to remember, in the words of Delitzsch, italicized 
by him to convey his sense of their importance, that if we only allow 
that the prophet was a prophet, it is of no essential consequence to what age he 
belonged ». 

Similarly, Dr. A. B. Davidson remarks, in his Lectures on Old Testament 
Prophecy, that ‘ the question is one of fact and criticism exclusively, and 
not a matter either of faith or practice. Such questions ought to be 
kept as far away as possible from all interference with the articles of 
religion. How can it affect one’s religious condition whether he believes 
Isaiah to be the single author of the prophecies attributed to him, or to 
have had others joined with him? And I wish to say that I think we 
ought to repudiate and resent the attempts that are made to make the 
question one of religious belief, and to endeavour so to place the 
question that it do not become so°.’ 

A whole literature has grown up around this question. The English 
student may be referred for varying views to the Bible Dictionaries 


* Prophecy a Preparation for Christ, see p. 295, 2nd ed. (1871). 

> Commentary on Isaiah, 1st ed., 1866. Dr. Delitzsch then held to 
the single authorship of Isaiah; and to ‘the Babylonian horizon’ as 
unveiled by special revelation to the son of Amoz. In his later life, 
however, he altered his views, and accepted the theory of a Deutero- 
Isaiah. See the second ed. of his Commentary, 1890. 

© See chap. xv, throughout: ‘The Isaianic Problem,’ especially p.27r. 


LITERATURE ON ISAIAH 503 


and Cyclopsdias, and for a yindication of the traditional view to 
Nagelsbach’s Commentary in the Lange series, translated by Dr. Lowrie 
of Philadelphia, 1878; to the work of Principal G. C. M. Douglas, 
Isaiah One and his Book One, 1895; also to Lines of Defence of the Biblical 
Revelation by Professor D. S. Margoliouth, 1900, ch. iii; to the Intro- 
duction to Isaiah in the Speaker's Commentary, by Dr. W. Kay, § iii; and, 
for another line of argument, to The Servant of the Lord, by W. Urwick, 
M.A., 1877. The arguments for the Babylonian authorship are given 
by Dr. Driver in his Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament, and 
in his book on Isaiah in the ‘Men of the Bible’ series, pp. 185-212, 
where the arguments on both sides are carefully stated ; by Professor 
A. F, Kirkpatrick in his Doctrine of the Prophets, Lect. xiii, 1892; and 
by Dr. A. B. Davidson in his posthumous Lectures quoted on the pre- 
ceding page. Dean Stanley has summarized the arguments on this 
side of the question in a popular form in his History of the Jewish Ohurch, 
vol. ii. pp. 499 sq. (ed. 1883). On the other hand, the linguistic 
evidence is caiefully treated and Dr. Driver’s list examined in detail 
by Mrs. Jeffreys, The Unity of the Book of Isaiah, with a preface by 
Dr. Sinker (1899), and the ‘ position which no Hebrew writer of note 
has ever assailed’ is maintained by a born Jew, Rey. Michael 
Rosenthal, in his Two Sermons at St. Mary's, Oxford (Parker, 1888). 


322. Outline continued.—This Second Part of the book 
may be divided into three main sections, each occupying 
nine chapters. The jirst (40-48) refers to the deliverance 
from Babylon, the central theme being the greatness of 
Jehovah in contrast with the gods of the nations, the most 
impressive illustration being the subordination of Cyrus, 
the heathen conqueror, to the accomplishment of the 
Divine will. The second section rises to a yet nobler strain 
(49-58), where the leading topic is the achievement of 
redemption through sorrow and sacrifice. Each of these 
portions ends with the refrain, ‘There is no peace, saith 
Jehovah, to the wicked’ (48*" 577). Of the third section, the 
prevailing thought is the establishment of God’s universal 
Kingdom and its triumph over every opposing form of evil. 
The ‘holy mountain Jerusalem’ appears, as at the begin- 
ning of Isaiah’s predictions (667° ; cp. 22); and in yet loftier 
vision the ‘new heavens and the new earth’ as in the Apo- 
calypse of John (6677; cp. Rev 21'), 






Se 


504 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


323. The Servant of Jehovah.— But the leading feature 
of these first and second sections, enstamping upon them | 
a character absolutely unique, and allying them with all 
that is greatest in the scheme of Divine revelation, is the 
delineation of THE Servant or JeHovaH. Rightly to 
understand the several passages in which this conception 
is wrought out, is to gain an insight at once into the spirit 
of prophecy, and into the nature of Redemption. 


Comparing the passages in which this Servant of Jehovah is 
described, we note that the designation is in several instances applied 
to Israel (or ‘ Jacob *) collectively, 41** 441*-*1 45* 48°° 498. These passages 
are, in fact, the key to the rest—Israel, as Jehovah's servant, the 
object of Divine guardianship, bearing a Divine commission, witness- 
ing for God to the nations, the appointed minister of His will. Such 
was the ideal Israel—often indeed falling below this high character— 
‘blind’ and ‘ deaf’ (42!*), but still the chosen depositary and instru- 
ment of the Divine purpose (447°). But the ideal seeks a yet higher 
realization, and becomes personally realized, in One Who Himself and 
alone combines all the attributes delineated. ‘ Behold, My Servant 
shall deal wisely, He shall be exalted and lifted up, and be very high.’ 
Henceforth the prophecy concentrates itself upon Him. To employ 
the fine illustration of Delitzsch, ‘The idea of the Servant of Jehovah 
assumes, to speak figuratively, the form of a pyramid: the base was 
Israel as a whole ; the central section was that Israel which was not 
merely Israel according to the flesh, but according to the spirit also ; 
the apex is the Person of the Mediator of salvation springing out of 
Israel.’ In this character He becomes the representative of His 
people, He bears their griefs and carries their sorrows, the chastise- 
ment of their peace is upon Him and His soul is made an offering for 
sin. So is Jehovah's purpose accomplished: the pleasure of the Lord 
prospers in His hand. 

After this crowning delineation, there is no mention by the prophet 
of Israel, or any human agent, as ‘ the Servant of Jehovah.’ The one 
true Servant has appeared, and all others are servants in subordination 
to Ilim. 


324. It is here that Isaiah is most truly seen as the 
Evangelical Prophet. If in the former part of the book 
the Messiah is revealed as King—the Branch from the root 
of Jesse—in this He appears as the Sufferer for sin, the 


ISAIAH QUOTED IN NEW TESTAMENT 505 


Redeemer and Sacrifice. The two views are not contra- 
dictory but supplemental. In the vision of the Apocalypse, 
the seer was bidden to behold ‘the Lion of the Tribe of 
Judah, the Root of David.’ ‘And I looked,’ he continues, 
‘and lo a Lamb as it had been slain.’ Here, as in a parable, 
appears the spirit of the two books which bear the name of 
the prophet Isaiah. 


325. Principal Quotations and Allusions in the New Testament. 


> 
Part I. 


1 ‘a remnant’ (LXX ‘a seed’). So Ro 9”. 

6'-$ ‘ His Glory.’ Cp. Jn 12*! Rev 42-68, 

6°10 the heart hardened to Divine teaching, Mt 135-4 Jn 12°*-*#* 

Ac 2825-27, 

714 the Emmanuel passage, Mt 171-8, 

812-18 «Sanctify Jehovah of Hosts,’ 1 Pet 34), 

8'4 the stumbling-stone, Ro 9S. 

817-18 ‘the children whom Jehovah hath given me,’ Heb 2!%, 
9}? light to the people that walked in darkness, Mt 4!4—1. 
1072-28 a remnant to be saved, Ro 9778. 
114 ‘the rod of His mouth and the breath of His lips,* 2 Th 2%. 
111° ‘the root of Jesse’ (‘shall rise to rule,’ LXX), Ro 15". 
21° ‘Fallen is Babylon,’ Rev 14° 187. 
2272 ‘the key of the house of David,’ Rev 3’. 
25° ‘death swallowed up in victory’ (LXX), 1 Cor 15°. 
2811-12 ‘with another tongue’ (cited as from ‘the law,’ 1 Cor 147"). 
28'6 the corner-stone laid in Zion, Ro 9%° 1 Pet 2‘, 
29! ‘the spirit of slumber,’ Ro 11°. 
29/8 lip-service and estranged hearts, Mt 157° Mk 757. 
29! the wisdom of the wise destroyed, 1 Cor 1". 
29'° 45° the creature challenging its Creator, It» 9?°. 
34*1° the coming judgement, Rey 61514, 

35° weak hands and feeble knees, Heb 12!”. 


Part II. 


408 the voice crying in the wilderness, Mt 3° and parallels. 
40°-8 fading glory and abiding truth, Jas 11°12 1 Pet 124-79. 

408 ‘Who hath kaown the mind of Jehovah ?’ Ro 11°4 1 Cor 2"°. 
414 The First and the Last, Rev 184117 25 218 2218, 

42'—4 the Servant of Jehovah, Mt 12!—?!, 

45~° ‘To Me every knee shall bow,’ Ro 14" Phil 21°), 


506 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


49° ‘a Light to the Gentiles,’ Lu 2° Ac 13%. 

49° ‘ the acceptable time,’ 2 Cor 6”. 

49'° ‘they shall not hunger nor thirst,’ Rey 7!&!7, 

52°7 (see Nah 11°) ‘feet beautiful upon the mountains,’ Ro 10%. 

53 The suffering Servant of Jehovah: the Saviour from sin and 
sorrow. This chapter is almost reproduced in the N. T., 
applied at every point to Christ. Compare verse 4 with Mt 81’, 
verses 5, 6 with 1 Pet 2***5, verses 7, 8 with Ac 8°55, yerse 9 
with 1 Pet 2”, verse 1a with Mk 1578 Lu 22°? Heb 9”, 

54! ‘ Rejoice, thou barren,’ Gal 427. 

54/5 Thy children taught of God, Jn 6*. 

55° ‘the sure mercies of David,’ Ac 13°49 

55°° ‘seed to the sower and bread to the eater,’ a Cor g"®. 

567 ‘a house of prayer for all people,’ Mt ar’ and parallels. 

57) ‘ peace to him (LXX ‘them ’) that is (are) far off,’ &c., Eph 2'7. 

59" ‘ breastplate of righteousness, and helmet of salvation,’ Eph 
6417 ¢ Th 5°. 

59°°-?! ‘the Deliverer out of Zion,’ Ro 1128-27, 

60°10-1 the nations and the heavenly City, Rev 21*#*8, 

611? glad tidings to the meek, Lu 4!7—!%, 

63° treading the winepress, Rev 19'*", 

64* mysteries of Divine love, 1 Cor 2°. 

65'* ‘found of them that sought Me not,’ Ro 1070-2!, 

6517 ‘ New heavens and a new earth,’ 2 Pet 3 Rey ar’. 

66!2 Throne, footstool, and sanctuary, Mt 5°*55 Ac 748, 

6674 Undying worm and quenchless fire, Mk 9**, 


To this array of passages, many phrases and allusions 
might be added, evidently derived from the prophet. In 
fact, Isaiah in the New Testament would be among the 
most interesting and profitable of Bible studies. 


The Book of Micah 


B.C. 730-695. 


326. His personal history.—Micah, a contemporary 
of Isaiah, appears to have been a native of Moresheth-gath 
(1), hence the title ‘ Morasthite.’ The place was a village 
about twenty miles south-west of Jerusalem, and in Philis- 
tine territory: Jerome places it near Eleutheropolis. Thus, 


THE BOOK OF MICAH 507 


while Isaiah was a prophet of the court and city, Micah 
was a country prophet. The book contains many notes of 
the prophet’s personality : ‘ And I said’(21); ‘ Woe is me!’ (7). 
He seems to have been commissioned not long after Amos, - 
Hosea, and Isaiah had begun their ministry; and he includes 


‘both Israel and Judah in his reproofs and warnings (1). 


There is a striking resemblance between the predictions of 


doom regarding both Samaria and Jerusalem, comp. 1° 


with 3!*%, Greek writers (Epiphanius and others) say he 
was slain by Jehoram, son of Ahab ; confounding him with 
Micaiah the son of Imlah, z< Ki 22°-28. The names are 
different forms of the same word, signifying ‘ Who is like 
Jehovah’ (see Ex 15'1); Micah does not appear to have 
suffered martyrdom, but died in peace in the days of Heze- 
kiah ; see Jer 26!°"!°, where it appears that Jeremiah might 
have been put to death for foretelling the destruction of 


_ the Temple, had it not appeared that Micah had foretold the 


same thing above a hundred years before. He is not only 
referred to as a prophet in Jeremiah, as above, but is 
quoted by Zephaniah (3'°), Ezekiel (227), and Isaiah (41), 
The passage 4)‘, nearly identical with Is 2*-*, was prob- 
ably not borrowed by either of the prophets from the other, 
but was a prediction of an earlier time; each prophet in 
turn being inspired to make it the text of his discourse. 


327. Outline.—His predictions may be divided into 
three sections. 

He first describes the approaching ruin of both kingdoms ; 
particularizing several of the towns and villages of Judah 
in his own neighbourhood, ch. 1. He then rebukes and 
threatens the princes, prophets, and people for their pre- 
vailing sins; introducing, however, an intimation of mercy 
(2). In the second section, he proceeds to unfold the 
future and better destinies of the people; dwelling at 
length upon the happiness and glory of the Church under the 


¥ 


508 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


reign of the Messiah; then reverting to the nearer deliver- — 
ance of the Jews, and the destruction of the Assyrian power 
(4,5). The third division exhibits the reasonableness, purity, 
and justice of the Divine requirements, in contrast with 
the ingratitude, injustice, and superstition of the people, 
which caused their ruin. The ethical teaching of this part 
of the prophecy is clear and sublime®, its power being 
enhanced by interposition, as it were, of Jehovah Himself, 
pleading with His people. From the contemplation of this 
catastrophe, the prophet turns for encouragement to the 
unchanging truth and mercy of Jehovah, which he sets 
before the people as the most powerful inducement to 
heartfelt repentance (6, 7). 


Micah has much of the poetic beauty of Isaiah, and of the vigour of 
Hosea. His style is, however, occasionally obscure, through concise- 
ness and Sudden transitions from one subject to another. 

He fore in clear terms, the invasions of Shalmaneser» and 
Sennacheri he dispersion of Israel4; the cessation of prophecy °; 
the utter des tion of Jerusalem‘; nor less clearly, the deliverance 
of Israel*; the thplace of the Messianic King and His ‘issuings 
forth’ of power fromthe remotest past" ; the promulgation of His gospel 
from Mount Zion, a i results, and the exaltation of His kingdom 










over all nations. 


® 6-8, It may be noted that this paragraph is not to be taken, 
with some expositors (including Bishop Butler), as the words of 
Balaam. It is an utterance of Micah himself, as in response to 
Jehovah’s pleading. Note that, connected with the reference to 
Balaam, the phrase ‘ from Shittim unto Gilgal’ means ‘from the last 
station east of Jordan to the first station on the west,’ i. e. the eventful 
period of crossing of the Jordan into the Promised Land. 

b ;6-8 (2 Ki 17). 

co 79-16 (2 Ki 1815), a 578, e g*. 

f gi. EB gl2 4! 5%. 

4 5° ‘Goings forth’ (or ‘comings forth’) is from the same root as 
‘shall come forth’ in the same verse, and must be explained accordingly. 
‘From ancient time’ (or ‘from the days of old’) is illustrated by 
vii. 20” (Kirkpatrick). He appeared from the beginning for the 
defence and deliverance of His people. 





THE BOOK OF NAHUM 509 


Citations from Micah in the New Testament. 


328. 5? The birth at Bethlehem of the coming King, Mt 2°. This 
passage is especially remarkable for having been quoted by the ‘ chief 
priests and scribes’ of Jerusalem, as an accepted prophecy of the 
Messiah. Comp. Jn 7*%. There are also striking reproductions of the 
prophet’s language (7°) in Mt 1086 Mk 13)” and Lu 12°, also of 72° in 
Im 1278, 


The Book of Nahum 


B. C. 660-620. 


329. Purpose of his Prophecy.—The Book of Nahum 
(‘Consolation’) is a striking illustration of the moral use 
of prophecy, of its fitness to console the believer, and 
strengthen him for present duties. 

_ WNahum’s history.—Of Nahum himself, nothing is known, 

except that he belonged to Elkosh (11), a place now unrecog- 
nized, but which Jerome asserts to have been a little village 
(viculus) belonging to Galilee*. He probably prophesied in 
Judah, after the Ten Tribes had been carried captive, and 
between the two invasions of Sennacherib. At this period 
of perplexity, when the overthrow of Samaria must have 
suggested to Judah many fears for her own safety, when 
Jerusalem had been drained of its treasure by Hezekiah, in 
the vain hope of turning away the fury of Sennacherib, and 
when distant rumours of the conquest of part of Egypt 
added still more to the general dismay, the prophet is 
raised up to reveal the power and tenderness of Jehovah, 
to foretell the subversion of the Assyrian empire, the death 
of Sennacherib, and the deliverance of Hezekiah. 


Nineveh, the destruction of which is foretoid by the prophet, was at 
that time the capital of a great and flourishing empire. It was a city 


* Prologue to Comm. on Nahum. 


510 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 





of vast extent and population, and was the centre of the principal — 
commerce of the world. Its wealth, however, was not altogether — 
derived from trade. It was a ‘ bloody city,’ ‘full of lies and robbery” 
(31). It plundered the neighbouring nations ; and is compared by the 
prophet to a family of lions, which ‘fill their holes with prey, and their 
dens with ravin’ (2-12), At the same time it was strongly fortified : 
its colossal walls are said by Diodorus Siculus to have been a hundred 
feet high, and wide enough at the summit for three chariots to be 
driven abreast on them; with fifteen hundred towers, bidding defiance 
to all enemies. Yet, so totally was it destroyed, that, in the second 
century after Christ, not a vestige remained of it; and its very site 
was long a matter of uncertainty. 


330. Outline.—This book is surpassed by none in sub- 
limity of description. It consists of a single poem; which 
opens with a solemn description of the attributes and opera- 
tions of Jehovah (1*~§). Then follows (19~"*) an address to 
the Assyrians, describing their perplexity and overthrow , 
verses 12 and 13 being thrown in parenthetically, to con- 
sole the Israelites with promises of future rest and relief 
from oppression. Chapter 2 depicts the siege and capture 
of Nineveh, and the consternation of the inhabitants. 
Chapter 3 describes the utter ruin of the city, and 
the various causes contributing to it. The example of 
No-Amon (or Thebes), a great and strong city of Egypt, 
which fell under the judgement of God, is introduced 
(3° 1°) to illustrate the similar punishment coming on the 
Assyrians. It is observable that in Nahum there is no 
reference to the sins of Judah as punished by the Assyrian 
trouble, nor is there any prediction of the Babylonian yoke 
(Kirkpatrick). 


New Testament Reference. 


331. The words of Nahum (115) ‘Behold upon the mountains the 
feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!” are 
nearly as in Is 52*7. From one of these prophets, or perhaps with — 
a remembrance of both, they are cited Ro 10°. 


THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH 511 


Prophets of the Babylonian Period (see p. 482). 


Taste II. 


(Decline and Fall of the Kingdom of Judah ; and the Captivity under 
Nebuchadnezzar.) 
2 Kings 20-25. 
2 Chronicles 32-36. 
Prophets in Judah. 
ZePHANIAH: warns Judah; prophesies against various nations ; 
predicts restoration. 
HaBakkKok : prophecies on the Chaldzan invasion and the Return. 
JEREMIAH: in Jerusalem, and afterwards in Egypt; predictions 
concerning Judah, Israel, and heathen nations, largely historical ; 
followed by Lamentatrons over the fall of the city. 
OxBaprIaH: prophecies concerning Edom and the Latter Days. 


EzexiEt : on the Chebar; beholds the Divine glory ; counsels and 
warnings to his fellow exiles ; speaks of the destruction of Jeru- 
salem; prophesies concerning heathen nations; Restoration ; 
Symbols of the future Church. 


The Book of Zephaniah 
B.C. 630-620. 


332. Period of his ministry. Between the cessation 
of the prophecies of Isaiah, Micah, and Nahum, and the 
days of Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and the later prophets, there 
was an interval of fifty years, during which there was 
no prophet whose writings have reached us. The lessons 
taught by the destruction of Samaria, and by earlier pro-— 
phets, especially Isaiah, seem to have been left to produce 
their proper effects on the minds of the people. The wicked 
reign of Manasseh occupied nearly all this interval, and 
seemed to render reformation: by prophetic teaching hope- 
less. With Josiah, however, the prophetic spirit revived, 
and ZrpuHaniaH (‘Jehovah hath guarded’) is the earliest of 
the prophets of his age. He seems to have prophesied near 
the commencement of Josiah’s reign, and at all events 


TR RIE 
512 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


before the eighteenth year*, when the altars of Baal were 
destroyed. He probably assisted Josiah in his efforts to 
restore the worship of the true God. Of the prophet 
personally nothing is known. As he traces back his pedi- 
gree for four generations (1') he was probably of noble birth. 


333. Outline.—The first chapter contains a general 
denunciation of vengeance against Judah and those who 
practised idolatrous rites; Baal, his black-robed priests 
(Chemarim) and Malcham (Moloch), being all condemned ; 
and declares ‘ the great day of trouble and distress’ to be at 
hand (127%), 


There is an evident reference here to the invasion of the Scythians, 
which at this time filled the land with consternation®, The sur- 
rounding countries were ravaged, especially Philistia, but there was 
hope that Jerusalem might be spared (2%). This hope was actually 
fulfilled: and the first catastrophe deferred. 


The second chapter predicts the judgements in connexion 
with this great invasion, about to fall on the Philistines, 
those especially of the sea-coasts (Cherethites), the Moabites, 
Ammonites, and Ethiopians ; and describes in terms won- 
derfully accurate the desolation of Nineveh: prophecies 
which began to be accomplished in the conquests of Nebu- 
chadnezzar. The result was to be the reverence paid to 
Jehovah when ‘the gods of the earth’ were thus discredited. 
The heathen should worship Him ‘every one from his 
place’ (21'), while in the latter part of the prophecy they 
are described as bringing their offerings to Him (3). 

In the third chapter, the prophet arraigns Jerusalem, 
rebukes her sins, and concludes with the most animating 
promises of her future restoration, of the gathering of the 


® There is a slight chronological indication in the mention of ‘the 
king’s sons’ ini’. In the eighteenth year of Josiah, Jehoiakim would 
have been twelve and Jehoahaz ten years old. 

> See Herodotus i. 105, 106. 





THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK 513 


nations into the Church of God, and of the happy state of 
the people of Jehovah in the latter days (3'7 3°-?°), 


Dr. Keith has noticed the exactitude with which Zephaniah, 
Amos, and Zechariah foretell the destinies of the four chief cities 
of Philistia—Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron. Comparing 
Am 1578 Zee g> and Zep 2*-*, it will be seen that of Gaza it is 
declared that baldness shall come upon it, and that it should be 
bereaved of its king. At present, amid ruins of white marble indicating 
its former magnificence, a few villages of dry mud are the only abode 
of its inhabitants. Of Ashkelon and Ashdod it is said that both shall 
be ‘without inhabitants’ ; and so they are. Gaza is inhabited ; Ash- 
kelon and Ashdod are not, though their ruins remain. Different from 
the destiny of each was to be the end of Ekron: ‘it shall be rooted 
up.’ Now its very name is lost, nor is the spot known on which it 
stood. ... Clearly, prophecy and providence—predictions and the 
events that fulfil them—are guided by the same hand ®*. 


New Testament References. 


334. The phrase ‘the day of wrath’ (source of the medixval poem, 
* Dies Ire) 1°18 is characteristic of this prophet, and is repeated, Ro 2° 
Rey 6!7._ The prophet also (3°) has the metaphor of ‘ pouring out’ the 
Divine anger, reflected in the imagery of the vials (bowls, R.V.) of 
wrath, Rey 16}. 


The Book of Habakkuk 


B.C. 625-607. 


335. Time of his prophecy.—Nothing is known with 
certainty of the parentage and life of Habakkuk (a name 
which signifies ‘embracing,’ or ‘a wrestler’); but from the 
fact that he makes no mention of Assyria, and speaks of the 
Chaldzan power as growing with almost incredible rapidity, 
it is concluded that he prophesied in Judah during the 
reign of Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim, shortly before the inva- 
sion of Nebuchadnezzar (1° 2? 31°18), This view is con- 


2 See Keith on Prophecy, ch. viii, p. 102 (Religious Tract Society’s 
edition). 
LI 





a 
514 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


firmed by his reference to the state of the kingdom. The 
reforms instituted by Josiah were evidently past, and 
reaction was setting in. It is probable that the duel 
between Chaldszea and Egypt had come to an end in the 
great battle of Carchemish ; and that Judwa lay open to the 
northern power. Habakkuk therefore was contemporary 
with Jeremiah. Many legends were current among the 
Jews respecting him, but they shed no light on his career. 
As a specimen, see Bel and the Dragon, verses 33-39. 


Of all the nations who afflicted the Jews, and in them the Church of — 
God, the chief were the Assyrians, the Chaldzans, and the Edomites ; 
and three of the prophets were commissioned specially to pronounce 
their destruction. Nahum foretells the destruction of the Assyrians ; 
Habakkuk that of the Chaldeans; and presently we shall find 
Obadiah foretelling the destruction of Edom. 

























336. Outline.—The prophet begins by lamenting the 
iniquities and lawless violence that prevailed among the 
Jews. God then declares that He will work a strange work 
in their days, and raise up the Chaldeans, described with 
terrible vividness, who should march through the breadth 
of their land and take possession of its dwellings. In 
this description, the prophet forecasts the three invasions 
(in the reigns of Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah) ; 
depicts the fierceness of their attack and the rapidity of 
their victories; then points to the pride and false confi- 
dence of the victors, and humbly expostulates with God 
for inflicting such judgements upon His people by a 
nation more wicked than themselves. He then receives 
and communicates God’s answer to his expostulation, to 
the effect that the vision, though it tarry, shall surely 
come: that the just shall live by their faith, and are to 
wait for it. He then pronounces five ‘Woes’ upon the 
Chaldeans ; for insatiate ambition (2°~§), for unscrupulous 
greed (2°11), for injustice and cruelty (2'*-™), for drunken 
debauchery (2'° 1"), and for gross idolatry (2'°~*°). These 


THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH 515 


revealed in vision to the prophet upon his watch-tower; 
being prefaced by the assurance to the people of God that 
‘the just shall live by his faith,’ a promise whose depth 
of meaning it was given to the Apostle Paul to discern, 
Ro 1” Gal 3!'; cf. Heb 1037—*8, 

The prophet, hearing these promises and threatenings, 
concludes his book with a sublime song, both of praise and 
of prayer (3). He celebrates past displays of the power 
and grace of Jehovah, supplicates God for the speedy deliver- 
ance of His people, and closes by expressing a confidence in 
God which no change can destroy. This psalm, which was 
evidently intended for use in public worship, being ‘set to 
Shigionoth’ or dithyrambic measures (see Introd. to Psalms), 
was designed to afford consolation to the pious Jews under 
their approaching calamities. 


Citations in the New Testament. 


337. Besides the profound declaration in 2*, two sentences of this 
prophet are also employed with evangelical meaning; the warn- 
ing in 1°, quoted by Paul at Antioch, Ac 13*°4!; the certain, although 
tarrying vision, 2° (Heb 10%”). There is also a resemblance between 
2! and Lu 19%"; and between 3!° and Lu 1%”. 


os 


The Book of Jeremiah 


B.C. 627-577. 


338. His personal history.—Jeremiah was the son of 
Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth, in Benjamin. He was called 


to the prophetic office about seventy years after the death 


of Isaiah, in the thirteenth year of King Josiah, whilst he 

was very young (1°) and still living at Anathoth. It would 

seem that he remained in his native place for several years ; 

but at length, probably in consequence of the persecution of 

his fellow townsmen, and even of his own family (117! 12°), 

as well as, under the Divine direction, to have a wider field 
tl2 





516 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


for his labours, he left Anathoth, and came to Jerusalem. 
He also visited the cities of Judah (11°), and prophesied alto- 
gether upwards of forty years. 





During the reign of Josiah, he was, doubtless, a valuable coadjutor to 
that pious monarch in the reformation of religion. From his notice of 
Jehoahaz (Shallum) (22!°—"*), he probably prophesied without hindrance 
during his reign. But when Jehoiakim came to the throne he was 
interrupted in his ministry ; ‘ the priests and prophets’ becoming his 
accusers, and demanding, in conjunction with the populace, that he 
should be put to death (26). The princes did not dare to defy God 
thus openly; but Jeremiah was either placed under restraint, or 
deterred by his adversaries from appearing in public. Under these 
circumstances, he received a command from God to commit his 
predictions to writing; and having done so, sent Baruch to read 
them in the Temple on a fast day. The princes were alarmed, and 
endeavoured to rouse the king by reading out to him the prophetic 
roll, But it was in vain: the reckless monarch, after hearing three 
or four pages, eut the roll in pieces, and cast it into the fire, giving 
immediate orders for the apprehension of Jeremiah and Baruch. ‘But 
Jehovah hid them ;’ and Jeremiah soon afterwards, by Divine direc- 
tion, wrote the same messages again, with some additions (36). 

In the short reign of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) we find the prophet 
still uttering the voice of warning (see 13'*; compare 2 Ki 24" and 
ch. 2274-%°), though without effect. 

In the reign of Zedekiah, when Nebuchadnezzar’s army laid siege 
to Jerusalem, and then withdrew upon the report of help coming 
from Egypt, Jeremiah was commissioned by God to declare that the 
Chaldwans would come again, and take the city, and burn it with 
fire. Departing from Jerusalem, he was accused of deserting to the — 
Chaldzans, and was cast into prison, where he remained until the 
city wastaken. Nebuchadnezzar, who had formed a more just estimate 
of his character, gave a special charge to his captain, Nebuzar-adan, - 
not only to provide for him, but to follow his advice. The choice 
being given to the prophet, either to go to Babylon, where doubtless 
he would have been held in honour at the royal court, or to remain 
with his own people, he preferred the latter, He subsequently 
endeavoured to persuade the leaders of the people not to go to Egypt, 
but to remain in the land ; assuring them, by a Divine message, that — 
if they did so God would build them up. The people refused to obey, 
and went to Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch with them (43°). In 
Egypt, he still sought to turn the people to the Lord (44); but his 
writings give no information respecting his subsequent history. 


















I 


CONTEMPORARIES OF JEREMIAH 517 


Ancient tradition, however, asserts that the Jews, offended by his 
faithful remonstrances, put him to death in Egypt. 


339. His prophetic contemporaries.—Jeremiah was 
contemporary with Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and LEzekiel. 
Between his writings and those of Ezekiel there are 
many interesting points both of resemblance and of con- 
trast. Both prophets were labouring for the same object, 
at nearly the same time. One prophesied in Palestine, 
the other in Chaldwa; yet the substance of both mes- 
sages is the same. In the modes of expression adopted by 
the prophets, however, and in their personal character, 
they widely differed. ‘The history of Jeremiah brings be- 
fore us a man forced, as it were, in spite of himself, from 
obscurity and retirement into the publicity and peril which 
attended the prophetical office. Naturally mild, susceptible, 
and inclined rather to mourn in secret for the iniquity which 
surrounded him than to brave and denounce the. wrong- 
doers, he stood forth at the call of God, and proved himself 
a faithful, fearless champion of the truth, amidst reproaches, 
insults, and threats. This combination of qualities is so 
marked, that it has well been regarded as a proof of the 
Divine origin of his mission. In Ezekiel, on the other hand, 
we see the power of Divine inspiration acting on a mind 
naturally of the firmest texture, and absorbing all the 
powers of the soul. 

The style of Jeremiah corresponds with this view of the character 
of his mind. It is peculiarly marked by pathos. He delights in 


expressions of tenderness, and gives touching descriptions of the 
miseries of his people. 


340. Arrangement of his discourses.—The prophecies 
of this book do not all stand in respect to time as they 
were delivered. Why they are not so arranged, and how 
they are to be reduced to chronological order, it is not 
easy to say. Attempts have been made by Ewald and 
others to account for the present arrangement, but not very 


518 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


successfully. The best explanation is that there has been 
some dislocation of the order; and from the notes of time 
that are given, and the contents of the several discourses, 
the sections have been thus classified. 

1. In the reign of Jostan, 1-12. The beginning of ch. 11 
seems to mark the time when the book of the Law was 
newly discovered in the Temple (2 Ki 22%~1%), 

2. Under JrHoIAKIM, 13-20, in connexion with which 
series of discourses is recorded the conspiracy of ‘ the princes 
of Judah ’ against the prophet, with his deliverance (25, 26). 
Ch. 22'~!’ denounces Jehoiakim for his unrighteousness, and 
declares the fate of his brother and predecessor (Jehoahaz 
or Shallum). Ch. 35 draws lessons of constancy and 
obedience from the conduct of the Rechabites. Chs. 45 
(to Baruch, the prophet’s scribe) and 36 refer to the roll of 
the above prophecies as read to Jehoiakim in the fifth year 
of that king’s reign, and by him cut to pieces and burned. 

3. Under Jrnoracurin, 22*°-8°, The fate of the king 
(called here Coniah) is pathetically depicted. He is to he 
a lifelong prisoner in Babylon, and to leave no heir to the 
throne of David ; being thus virtually childless. 

4. Under Zeprx1aH. The following passages belong to 
this period: 21 27% (counselling submission to the Baby- 
lonian yoke); 28 (recording the prediction of the false pro- 
phet Hananiah of deliverance within two years); 34 (the 
king’s fate, and the punishment of the slave-owners’ 
perfidy); 37, 38 (an account of the prophet’s arrest 
and imprisonment); 39 52! °° (the capture of Jerusalem). 
Chs. 30-33 give the assurance of restoration, and of the 
New Covenant, with the remarkable episode (32) of the 
purchase by the prophet of his ancestral property at Ana- 
thoth, in the assurance that the land would be regained, 

5. Prophecies against hostile nations, 46-52. These were 

probably uttered at different times, and are gathered into 


* In 27! the true reading is obviously ‘Zedekiah.’ See R.V. marg. 





PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH 519 
these four chapters from their similarity of subject. They 
relate to Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, 
Kedar, and the kingdoms of Hazor, Elam, and Babylon. 
The brief discourse against Elam (49°*~*°) was delivered at 
the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign ; the wonderful prophecy 
respecting Babylon (50, 51) in that king’s fourth year when 
he went with the chief officer of his court into Chaldza on 
some errand to us unknown. This discourse was to be 
east into the Euphrates bound to a stone, an emblem of the 
sinking of the proud city (compare Rev 18”). 

6. After the fall of Jerusalem. One of the most 
striking parts of the book is in ch. 2g, a letter sent by 
Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon with Jehoiachin, coun- 
selling them as to their conduct in captivity. Instead of 
rebelling and repining they were to settle down as peaceful 
and industrious inhabitants of the land, seeking the pross 
perity of the country, and repudiating those false prophets 
who sought to stir up discontent. After seventy years, the 
_ prophet declares, the captivity would cease. This wise and 
noble letter had a lasting influence for good, and was re- 
membered when the day of deliverance came (Ezr 11). 

7. To the end of Jeremiah’s life, 39-44. This section is 
mainly historical, and its details have heen already noted, 
§ 338. The chief prophetic discourse which it contains is 
a protest against the idolatry of the Jews in Egypt (44). 

Among the special predictions of Jeremiah were his 
prophecies of the fate of Zedekiah*, the duration of the 
Babylonian captivity », and the return of the Jews®. The 
downfall of Babylon 4 and of many nations® is also foretold 
in predictions, the successive completion of which kept up 
the faith of the Jews in those that refer to the Messiah’. 


* 3423 : compare 2 Ch 36!" 2 Ki 25°? Jer 524. 

» 251112 (see Dn 9”). © 2910-14 (Fize 1). 
d 2512 BO-S1, © 46-49. 

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520 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS %. | 


“§ 
He foretells very clearly the abrogation of the Mosaic law ; 
speaks of the ark as no more remembered (3°) ; and reaches 
the very height of Old Testament prediction in his great 
prophecy of the New Covenant (31°! ~*), 


References in the New Testament. 

341. Compare 71! with Mt 215 ‘a den of robbers’; 9** with 1 Cor 
15! ‘slorying in the Lord’; 107 with Rev 15‘; 111° with r Thess. a‘; 
17'° with Rev 27°; 225 with Mt 23%; 25' with Rev 18°23; 517? 
with Rev 14° 1774 18%; 51“ with Rev 18*; and 51% with Rev 18”. 
The appellation ‘ Dayspring,’ as applied to the Messiah, Lu 178, is from 
the LXX of Jer 23°, where the Heb. is ‘ Branch’ (so Zee 3° 6"). For 
the application of the passage ‘ Rachel weeping for her children’ (31° 
Mt 217-18), see Part I, § 157. 

The most noteworthy of such New Testament applications is that of 
gr! in Heb 8° and 10%’, The prophet describes the New 
Covenant in terms which make this passage a true anticipation of the 
gospel, and which possibly suggest the phrase ‘ New Covenant’ in the 
institution of the Lord’s Supper; so placing Jeremiah by the side of 
Isaiah as an ‘ Evangelical Prophet.’ 


The Book of Lamentations 
cir. B.C. 586. 

342. This book is an Appendix to the prophecies 
of Jeremiah. Its authorship has been ascribed to him by 
uniform ancient tradition, although it nowhere contains his 
name. The tradition has been questioned on internal 
grounds, but without sufficient reason. The book expresses 
with pathetic tenderness the prophet’s grief for the desola- 
tion of the city and Temple of Jerusalem, the captivity of 
the people, the miseries of famine, the cessation of public 
worship, and the other calamities with which his country- — 
men had been visited for their sins. The leading object — 
was to teach the suffering Jews neither to despise ‘the | 
chastening of the Lord,’ nor to ‘faint’ when ‘rebuked of 
Him,’ but to turn to God with deep repentance, to confess 


THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL 521 


their sins, and humbly look to Him alone for pardon and 
deliverance. 
By the Jews the book is ranked among the Megilloth (rolls) and is 


read in the synagogues on the gth of Ab (July), the anniversary of the 
destruction of the Temple. 


No book of Scripture is more rich in expressions of 
patriotic feeling, or of the penitence and trust which become 
an afflicted Christian. 

The book consists of five chapters, each being a separate 
complete poem. (On the poetical form, see Introduction to 
ch. xvi.) The form of these poems is strictly regular. 
With the exception of the last (5), they are in the original 
Hebrew alphabetical acrostics, in which every stanza begins 
with a new letter. The third has this further peculiarity, 
that all three lines in each stanza have the same letter at 
the commencement. 

As a composition, this book is remarkable for the great variety of 
pathetic images it contains, expressive of the deepest sorrow, and 
worthy of the subject which they are designed to illustrate. It also 


contains, amidst its words of grief, occasional sentences of richest 
consolation. See 322724:25-26.58, 


In the New Testament there is perhaps a reminiscence 
of 3* in 1 Cor 438, 


The Book of Ezekiel 


B.C. 592-570. 

343. His personal history.— Ezekiel (God will strengthen, 
or prevail) was, like Jeremiah, a priest as well as a prophet. 
He was one of the great company of captives carried to 
Babylon, with the young King Jehoiachin, by Nebuchad- 
nezzar, B.C. 597, ten years before the destruction of 
Jerusalem. These captives were distributed into different 
settlements throughout Babylonia, forming small com- 


ne 
hy 


522 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS — 


munities.with a certain organization, and freedom to wor- 


ship, each in their ‘little sanctuary.’ The company to 
which Ezekiel belonged, consisting as it appears, of people 
well-to-do, had its abode at Tel-abib (Corn-hill), by the 
river Chebar ; that is, either the Habor (2 Ki 17°) in Lower 
Mesopotamia, near Carchemish, among the descendants of 
the Israelite exiles, or, as most recent expositors think, 
some river or canal nearer Babylon. There the priest- 
prophet was the most notable figure in the group of exiles, 
who, however, for the most part resisted his words, cling- 
ing to the hope of a speedy return to the land of their 
fathers. It was Ezekiel’s bitter task to disenchant them ; 
and his life was still further saddened by the sudden death 
of his wife in the ninth year of their exile (24"*). Tradition 
says that he was put to death by one of his fellow exiles, 
a leader among them, whose idolatries he had rebuked. 

He commenced prophesying in the fifth year after the 
captivity of Jehoiachin (12), that is, in Zedekiah’s reign 
(592), and continued till at least the twenty-seventh year 
(291"). The year of his first prophesying was also the 
thirtieth from the commencement of the reign of Nabo- 
polassar and from the era of Josiah’s reform, His influence 
with the people is obvious, from the numerous visits paid 
to him by the elders, who came to inquire what message 
God had sent through him (8! 141 20! &e.). 


His writings show remarkable vigour, and he was evidently well 
fitted to oppose ‘the people of stubborn front and hard heart,’ to 
whom he was sent. His characteristic, however, was the subordina- 
tion of his whole life to his work. “He ever thinks and feels as 
the prophet. In this respect his writings contrast remarkably with 
those of his contemporary Jeremiah, whose personal history and 
feelings are frequently recorded. That he was, nevertheless, a man 
of strong fecling is clear from the brief record he has given of his 
wife’s death (24)°—!§). 

The central point of Ezekiel’s predictions is the destruction of 
Jerusalem. Before this event, his chief object was to call to repentance 
those living in careless security ; to warn them against indulging the 





; 
q 
: 


OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL 523 


hope that, by the help of the Egyptians, the Babylcnian yoke would 
be shaken off (1717: compare Jer 37"); and to assure them that the 
destruction of their city and Temple was inevitable and fast approach- 
ing. After this event, his principal care was to console the exiled 
Jews by promises of future deliverance and restoration to their own 
land ; and to encourage them by assurances of future blessings. His 
predictions against foreign nations come between these two great 
divisions, having been for the most part uttered during the interyal 
between the Divine intimation that Nebuchadnezzar was besieging 
Jerusalem (24) and the arrival of the news that he had taken it (33*7). 

' The periods at which the predictions on these different subjects were 
delivered are frequently noted, being reckoned from the era of 
Jehoiachin’s captivity. See Part I, § 201. 


344. Outline.—The book may be divided (Hiivernick) 
into nine sections. 

1. Ezekiel’s call to the prophetic office, 1-3°1. Here Je- 
hovah from between the cherubim gives the prophet a 
commission ; shows him a roll inscribed with prophetical 
characters, and bidS him eat it, that is, digest its contents. 
This sublime and mysterious vision with which the prophecy 
begins (see also ch. 10) impressively showed that the presence 
and glory of the Lord were as truly in that heathen land as 
in Jerusalem. 

2. Predictions and symbolical representations, foretelling 
the approaching destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, 37°-~". 
The 390 years of Jsrael’s defection, and the forty years 
during which Judah had been especially rebellious, are set 
forth in the typical siege of ch. 4. The threefold judge- 
ment of pestilence, sword, and dispersion, finds expression 
in the symbolical representations of ch. 5. The prophet’s 
-companions in exile are thus warned that their hope of 
an.early return to their own land is futile, and that their 
only hope lay in patient service of Jehovah. 

3. Visions presented to the prophet a year and two 
months later than the former, 8-11, in which he is shown 
the Temple polluted by the worship of Tammuz (afterwards 
Adonis) ; the worshippers turning, like Persian sun-wor- 






oe 2p 
524 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS ~ 


shippers, to the east: the consequent judgement on Jeru-— 
salem and the priests, a few faithful being marked for 
exception (9); and at the close, promises of happier times 
and a purer worship. The symbol of the Divine presence 
is gradually withdrawn: first from the Temple, and then 
from the city. 

_ 4. Specific reproofs and warnings, 12-19. Here he 
shows the captives by two signs (12) what was about 
to be the fate of the people; exposes the false prophets 
who, at Jerusalem and at Babylon (Jer 23! 29%), spoke of 
peace and rest (13'%); repeats his threatenings to some 
elders who visited him in the hope of getting something 
from him that might contradict Jeremiah (14); sets forth 
Israel as a fruitless vine (15), and as a base adulteress (16). 
He shows (17) by one eagle (Nebuchadnezzar), who had taken 
away the top of the cedar (Jehoiakim), and by another eagle 
(Pharaoh), to whom the vine that w ft (Zedekiah) was 
turning, the uprooting of the whole; and, digressing to 
upbraid Zedekiah for the oath which he pb now breaking 
(compare verse 15 with 2 Ch 36°), he predicts the replant- 
ing and flourishing of the whole under Messiah the Branch, 
He shows that this suffering is the consequence of their 
own acts (18), and not only of the acts of their fathers. 

5. Another series of warnings, 20-23, given about a year 
later, when Zedekiah had revolted to Egypt. Zedekiah to 
be overthrown; mitre and crown (priesthood and royalty) 
alike to disappear, and the subversion of the existing order 
to prepare the way for Him ‘ whose right it is’ (217®-*7), 

6. Predictions uttered two years and five months later, 
on the very day when the siege of Jerusalem commenced 
(24'; compare 2 Ki 25), a fact revealed to the exiled prophet 
at that time. On that very day his wife suddenly died ; 
but he weeps not, as a sign to the people that the fall of 
Jerusalem would be to them a hardening calamity, leaving 
no time or opportunity for mourning. 





PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL 525 


7. Predictions against seven heathen nations (25-32), 
Ammon (25!~"), Moab (255-4), Edom (25!—%), Philistia 
(25-1), Tyre (26-281"), Sidon (282° 4), and Egypt (29-32). 
These predictions extended over a period of three years, 
during which time Jerusalem was besieged. With regard 
to the destinies of Israel, the prophet was to be silent 
until a refugee from Jerusalem should arrive with the 
tidings of that city’s destruction. Then he might speak 
again (2475-7). 

8. His predictions concerning Israel renewed (33-39), the 
fugitive from Jerusalem having arrived as had been fore- 
told (33”!). First, the character of the true shepherd of the 
people is described, in contrast with the false (33, 34). 
Then, in a threefold way, the future of the restored people 
_ is delineateds (1) The land to be delivered from its Edomite 
enemies, who will be finally overthrown (35-361) ; (2) the 
nation to be restored, purified, and revivified (3616-371), 
- illustrated by the vision of the valley of dry bones ; Judah 
and Israel to be reunited (37! 8); symbol of the two 
sticks ; (3) victory complete over the invasion of barbarian 
forces (38, 39); ‘Gog and Magog,’ from the wild regions of 
the north, symbolizing the fierce and apparently overwhelm- 
ing might of the power of evil (compare Rev 207 1), 

g. Symbolic representations of the Messianic times; the 
grandeur and beauty of the new city and Temple (40-48) @. 


Quotations from Ezekiel in the New Testament. 


345. The words, ‘He that heareth, let him hear’ (327), may 
possibly have been the original of the phrase, as found in Mt 11 
Mk 7/° Lu 14% Rey 13° &c. The solemn warning that judgement 
must begin at the house of God, 1 Pet 41’, has its original in Eze 0°. 
‘One flock and one shepherd,’ Jn 10°, may be traced to Eze 377%. 

But the mass of quotations from Ezekiel is found in the Apocalypse. 
Compare 1561018 with Rey 4°8; 17° with Rev 48; 2°19 with Rev 5}; 


* See Annotated Paragraph Bible, at the close of Ezek., for an outline 
map representing the ideal of the holy kingdom. 


526 HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


3" with Rev ro&!; 6"! with Rev 6°: 26'% with Rey 1872; 37%° with 


X 


Rey 11"! ; 38? with Rev 20° ; 397-*° with Rey 19!74; 4o'"** with Rey — 
21191518 and 47, 48 throughout with Rey a1, 2a, These parallels form 


a most instructive study. 


The Book of Obadiah 


cir. B.C. 586. 


346. Time of his prophecy.—The time when Obadiah 
delivered his prophecy is somewhat uncertain, but it was 
probably between the destruction of Jerusalem by the 
Chaldwans under Nebuchadnezzar (x. c. 587) and the con- 
quest of Edom, which took place five years afterwards. 
Others give an earlier date to this book (time of Hezekiah *), 
though with less reason. The personal history of the pro- 


phet is not known, but his name, signifying‘ Servant of 
Jehovah,’ was borne by several others ed in Scrip- 
ture>, There is an occasional resembla to Jeremiah 


and Ezekiel; while some passages reproduce the language 
of the earlier prophets Joel and Amos¢®. 

347. Outline.—Israel had no greater enemy than the 
Edomites. They were proud of their wisdom, verse 8, and 
of their rocky and impregnable position, verse 3. The pro- 
phet foretells the uncovering of their treasures, and rebukes 
their heartless treatment of the Jews, their kinsmen, in 
rejoicing over their calamities and encouraging Nebuchad- 
nezzar utterly to exterminate them (Ps 137"); for all which 
an early day of retribution was to come: ‘As thou hast 
done, it shall be done unto thee,’ verse 15, 


* Or even that of Jehoram (see 2 Ch 21'*!7), Kirkpatrick. 

> Ahab’s steward, 1 Ki 18°-*1®, See also the lists in 1 Ch 7° 8% o!® 
12° 27)° 2 Ch 34)? Ezr 8°, 

© Compare verses 3, 4 and Jer 49'*-!; verse gand Eze 25™ ; verse 12 
and Eze 35; verse 16 and Jer 49'?; also verse 17 and Joel 2°; 
verse rg and Am 1), 





THE BOOK OF OBADIAH 527 


But the chosen race themselves had just been carried into 
captivity ; the holy land was deserted, and the chastisement 
denounced against the Kdomites might therefore appear not 
to differ from that which had already been inflicted upon 
the seed of Jacob. The prophet therefore goes on to declare 
that Edom should be as though it had never been, and 
should be swallowed up for ever (a prophecy which has been 
remarkably fulfilled); while Israel should rise again from 
her present fall; should repossess, not only her own land, 
but also Philistia and Edom ; and finally rejoice in the holy 
reign of the promised Messiah. See Part I, § 188. 

Compare Am 111-12 911~15 Joe] 319-20 Jer 49" 22 Eze 35. 

There are no references to this short prophecy in the New 
Testament. 


CHAPTER XV 


HISTORICAL AND PROPHETICAL 
BOOKS FROM THE BABYLONIAN 
CAPTIVITY TO THE CLOSE OF THE 
OLD TESTAMENT CANON 


Tuer Captivity: Ture Jews my BaBytonta, 


348. The Babylonian Captivity was a remarkable, and, 
at the time it occurred, an unexampled dispensation of 
Providence. 


The whole land was desolated, the ark destroyed, the Temple burned 
to the ground, and the city of Jerusalem laid waste; while the mass — 
of the people were delivered into the hands of barbarous enemies, and _ 
taken out of their own into a distant country. The short book of 
the ‘ Lamentations’ of the prophet Jeremiah, who lived in the midst 
of these scenes, is a heart-touching memorial of this visitation and 
of its results. See also Psalms 80, 89, 137. 


Babylonian Kings during the Captivity. 


Nebuchadnezzar . . . . . 604-561 
Evil-merodach. . . . . . 561-559 
Neriglissar . . . 2. . 3 
Laborisoarchod . . . . . 555 (9 months) 
Nabonidus: . . . 555-538 


Cyrus conquered Babylon, 538 


349. Duration of the Captivity.—The ‘seventy years,’ 
assigned (Jer 25'! and other passages) as the duration of the 
Captivity, are either a round number, or may be reckoned 


THE CAPTIVITY 529 


from the time when the defeat of the Egyptians at Car- 
chemish, B. c. 605 (see 2 Ki 24’ Jer 46?) secured to Babylon 
the sovereignty of Western Asia, including Palestine. This 
was in the year of Nebuchadnezzar’s accession to the throne 
of Babylon, the third year of Jehoiakim (Dan 11). Several 
captives—the youthful Daniel and his companions among 
them—were then carried to Babylon. Eight years after- 
wards Jehoiakim, endeavouring to throw off this vassalage, 
was effectually crushed by Nebuchadnezzar, and disappears 
from the history® ; and his son Jeconiah (Coniah or Jehoia- 
chin) was placed by the Babylonian monarch upon the 
throne ; occupying it, however, for only three months, at 
the end of which occurred the chief deportation of king 
and people to Babylon. 

The number of the exiles proves how greatly the land 
had been depopulated. ‘Ten thousand captives’ besides 
‘eraftsmen and smiths’ are mentioned in one account: 
’ another estimate, proceeding on some different principle, 
gives the number at various times as amounting to four 
thousand six hundred». They comprised the flower of 
the nation ; ‘none remained, save the poorest sort of the 
people of the land.’ As vassal-king of this miserable 
remnant, Nebuchadnezzar set up Josiah’s youngest son 
Mattaniah, changing his name to Zedekiah, ‘ Righteousness 
of Jehovah,’ and exacting from him an oath of allegiance, 
Eze 17'2-*, The high-priest was left behind in Jerusa- 
lem to carry on and maintain the Temple services, with 
a diminished magistracy to maintain order. The King of 
Babylon evidently contemplated the retention of Judea as 
a subject state, useful as a check upen any ambitious 
designs of the humbled power of Egypt. But there was 

a All that is known of his fate may be gathered from 2 Ch 36° and 
Jer 2219 3689, He seems to have escaped from the chains in which he 
was bound to be carried to Babylon, and to have been slain in 
attempting flight outside the city walls. 

> Compare 2 Ki 2414 with Jer 527°~“°, 

Mm 


530 LATER PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


in Jerusalem a strong pro-Egyptian party, who induced the 
infatuated king to declare himself on their side. In spite 
of the earnest protest of Jeremiah, an alliance with Pharaoh 
was concluded ; Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Phoenicia join- 
ing the confederacy. Nebuchadnezzar, enraged by Zedekiah’s 
perfidy, dispatched an army.to besiege Jerusalem. The 
city held out for a year and a half, but was at length taken 
by assault; the king’s chief abettors, including the high- 
priest, being carried to Riblah and slain. Zedekiah him- 
self was blinded and taken to Babylon. The Temple was 
burned, and its treasures seized by Nebuchadnezzar. 


350. Events in Judea.—Over the scanty population 
left in Judea, the Babylonian king placed Gedaliah (Jer 
40°) as governor; but he retained office for only two months, 
when he was treacherously murdered by Ishmael, a scion 
of the royal house, with a party of Ammonites, by whom 
a considerable remnant of the Jews were made prisoners. 
These, however, were rescued by Johanan on their way to 
the Ammonite country; and a halt was called in the 
neighbourhood of Bethlehem*. The policy of a retreat to 
Egypt was strongly advocated, and as strongly resisted by 
the prophet Jeremiah. He was, however, overruled (Jer 
40-42) and compelled to accompany the Jews, who settled 
at Tahpanhes (Daphne) on the Egyptian frontier. The 
eventual fate of this little colony is prophetically described 
by Jeremiah, 421°—?? 4476-28, 


351. Life in Babylonia.—Of the fifty years that fol- 
lowed these stirring events, few records remain; but 
the results abundantly appear. In Babylon, of the two 
captive kings, Jeconiah remained as a prisoner of state 
until the accession of Evil-merodach, when he was released ; 

* At Geruth-Chimham, the caravanserai or ‘inn’ on the property 


made over by David to the son of Barzillai. Expositors have noted 
with interest that this may have been the very spot of the Nativity. 





THE CAPTIVITY 531 


he was, indeed, so honoured by his late subjects that their 
years were reckoned (as in the prophet Ezekiel) from the 
date of his exile; while Zedekiah, the pertidious, was kept 
in close confinement until his death. 

It had been predicted that Jeconiah would be childless (Jer 22°°) ; 
that is, as explained, that he would have no heir to his throne. In 
fact, he had several sons (1 Ch 31718), of whom one, Salathiel or 
Shealtiel, was the father of Zerubbabel, so well known for his 


- subsequent part in Jewish history (Mt 1!2). Another is known as 
Sheshbazzar. See Introduction to the Book of Ezra. 


Jewish Communities.——The Jews in Babylonia were 
from the first a separate people ; and they speedily proved 
themselves to be of a superior race to their oppressors, as 
well as the adherents of a nobler faith. In several places 
they appear to have constituted themselves into district 
communities, with elders, and a government of their own; 
as by the river Chebar in the days of Ezekiel (see Eze 4). 
The idolatry by which they were surrounded had no 
longer any attractions for them®; it rather aroused a strong 
antagonism. From home associations (Ps 137) as well as 
from a deeper conviction, due to contrast, of the great- 
ness and divinity of their ancient religion, they clung to it 
with passionate intensity, and arose to a clearer conviction 
than heretofore that Jehovah was God of all the earth. 

Thus they became witnesses for Him to the surrounding 
heathen, and exerted a moral influence which never wholly 
passed away. Not only so; their principles and _ belief 
were consolidated. The very deprivation of Temple, altar, 
and sacrifices, threw them back upon the foundations of 
their faith. Schools of theology arose amongst them ; and 
when the day of restoration came, it found them, not with 
dim convictions and a shattered doctrinal system, but 
with an assured monotheism, and a distinct religious creed, 


* In this respect they differed from many among the remnant of 
the Jews whom Johanan had conducted to Egypt. See Jer 44. 
Mm 2 


532 LATER PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


never again to yield to heathen fascinations. It is interest- 
ing to know that the Jews who remained in Babylonia 
sent their offerings to Jerusalem for the service of the 
Temple (Ezr 1*~® ; see Zec 69—"4), 

‘It is,’ writes Professor Cornill, of Kénigsberg, ‘one of the greatest 
ironies of fate known to universal history—or, to speak more correctly, 
it is one of the most striking evidences of the wonderful ways which 
Divine Providence takes for the attainment of its most important and 
most significant ends—that the first completion and the permanent 
consolidation of the exclusive Judaism which sealed itself hermetically 
against everything non-Jewish, and rejected everything heathen, was 
accomplished and made possible only under the protection and by the 
aid of a heathen government.’ 


352. Literature of the period.—It is probable that 
the Exile was a period of considerable literary activity in 
collecting, preserving, and editing ancient records : the results 
appear in after-times. But in addition to the prophecies of 
Ezekiel and, possibly, of ‘Second Isaiah,’ Babylon is also 
the scene of a writing which occupies a unique place in the 
Old Testament—the Book of Danret. 


The Book of Daniel 


B.C. 605-534». 


353. His personal history.—Of Daniel little is known 
beyond what may be gathered from the book which bears 
his name. He was not a priest, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel ; 
but, like Isaiah, was of the tribe of Judah, and probably of 
the royal house (1°~°), He was carried to Babylon as a 
youth (1) in the third year of Jehoiakim (8. ¢. 605), eight 
years before Ezekiel. There he was placed in the court of 
Nebuchadnezzar, and became acquainted with the science of 
the Chaldeans, attaining a wisdom superior to their own. 
By Nebuchadnezzar he was raised to high rank and great 


® See § 321. > But see below. 


THE BOOK OF DANIEL 533 


power ; a position he retained, though not uninterruptedly, 
under both the Babylonian and Persian dynasties. He 
prophesied during the whole of the Captivity (171); his last 
prophecy being delivered two years later, in the third year 
of the reign of Cyrus (10!). Ezekiel mentions Daniel, with 
Noah and Job, as a righteous man (141*-*°) and as endowed 
with special wisdom (28%). If this be the same, the classing 
of a young contemporary with the great names of old is very 
remarkable. Our Lord quotes him as a prophet (Mt 24"), 
See Dn 9”. 


The first event which gained Daniel influence in the court of 
Babylon was the disclosure and explanation of the dream of Nebuchad- 
nezzar. This occurred in the second year of the sole reign of that 
monarch, i.e. in 603. Subsequently his companions were delivered 
from the burning fiery furnace (3); and some years later occurred 
the second dream of Nebuchadnezzar (4). The date of the events 
recorded in ch. 5 seems to be B.c. 538, towards the close of the 
reign of Nabonidus, represented in Babylon by his son Belshazzar. 
That night the young prince (denominated ‘ king’) was slain, and 
the dynasty changed. Daniel had been made the third ruler in the 
kingdom (verse 29); and though this honour was made an empty 
one by the course of events, Daniel still found fayour in the eyes of 
‘Darius’ (67-8). 

For ‘ Darius the Mede’ see Part I, § 192. 


354. Outline.—The book is divided into two parts ; the 
historical, 1-6, and the prophetic, 7-12. In the former part 
Daniel is spoken of in the third person ; in the latter (apart 
from introductory notices, 7! 101) he himself is the narrator. 

Historical Section. Daniel and his companions at the 
court of Nebuchadnezzar (1); the king’s dream of the great 
image, typifying four kingdoms (2); the burning fiery 
furnace (3); Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great tree 
destroyed, interpreted as foreshadowing his madness (4); 
Belshazzar’s feast (5); Daniel in the lions’ den (6). 

Apocalyptic Section. Vision of the four great beasts 
coming up from the sea, their judgement before the ‘ Ancient 





534 LATER PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


of days,’ and the giving of an everlasting kingdom to ‘one 
like unto a son of man’(7). Vision of the ram with two 
horns (* the kings of Media and Persia,’ 8°") overcome by the 
rough he-goat (‘the king of Greece,’ 84). The he-goat’s 
great horn (‘the first king,’ 8*!) is broken: out of it come 
up four horns (‘four kingdoms,’ 8*), and out of one of 
these ‘a little horn which waxed exceeding great’ (‘a king 
of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences,’ 8*°). 
He oppresses the ‘people of the saints’ (i.e. Israel, ef. 7”), 
and defiles the sanctuary for 2300 evenings and mornings 
(i.e. 1150 days or 3} years): then he ‘shall be broken 
without hand’ (i.e. by Divine visitation, cf. 2*4). 

The interpretation given by Gabriel of the vision in ch. 8 leaves 
little doubt of its historical application. The Persian empire estab- 
lished by Cyrus lasted for two centuries, from 8B. c. 538-333, when it 
was overthrown by Alexander the Great at the decisive battle of Issus. 
By subsequent conquests he had at the time of his early death (in 323, 
aged thirty-two—the ‘broken horn’) established an almost world-wide 
dominion which, in default of an heir, was partitioned out among his 
generals. After twenty years of rivalry and conflict four kingdoms 
were established—Macedonia and Greece, Thrace and Bithynia, Egypt 
and Syria, with Babylonia and the East allotted to Seleucus. Hence 
Judza passed under the sway of the Seleucid kings, of whom the 
ninth was Antiochus Epiphanes (b,c. 175-164), the ‘little horn.” His 
persecutions of the Jews led to the revolt under Judas Maccabzeus, 
and to the reconsecration of the Temple (in 165) about three years 
after its pollution. A few months later Antiochus died under some 
great mental distress. 

In ch. 9 Daniel, after prayer and confession of sin, is 
given understanding of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the 
accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem in seventy 
vears (Jer 25'* 29°). The final section (10-12) is a vision 
portraying the history of Persia and Greece (ef. ch. 8) until 
the times of Antiochus Epiphanes and Ptolemy Philometor, 
the contemporary King of Egypt. 


Interpretation of the later chapters. It is impossible to deal here 


with the many difficulties of interpretation, in general and in detail, 
with which this part of Scripture is beset. But as the clear prediction 


—_— ah 


LATER CHAPTERS OF DANIEL 535 


of ch. 8 is repeated and expanded in the remainder of the book it is 
natural to suppose that it is anticipated in the kindred but obscurer 
prophecies of chs. 7 and 2, and that the kingdoms of Media, Persia, 
and Greece are also among the four typified by the Beasts and the 
Image. Moreover, the first of the four is that of Nebuchadnezzar 
himself, Babylon (25°). 

At this point expositors divide. Are Media and Persia one empire, 
the Medo-Persian, founded by Cyrus, symbolized by the ram with 
shorter and longer horns? If so, Greece is the third, and the fourth 
is naturally identified with Romz, under whose power the empire 


' founded by Alexander eventually passed. Out of this assumption 


spring many varied interpretations of the ten kingdoms (the toes of 
the image, ch. 2, and the horns of the fourth beast, ch. 7) into which 
the Roman empire was to be broken up: also of the ‘little horn’ of 
ch, 7%20-225, largely identified with the papacy. 

Or, on the other hand, are Media and Persia to be regarded as two, 
the second and third of the four kingdoms, the fourth being the 
empire founded by Alexander the Great? In this case the outlook of 
the prophecy is more limited and of less ambiguous interpretation. 
The ten kings are probably Alexander’s successors: the ‘little horn’ 
of ch. 7 being identical with that of ch. 8, Antiochus Epiphanes, who 
is represented as removing three powerful rivals before securing his 
kingdom (7%20-28), 

The Roman view, that of Christian antiquity generally (with the 
exception of Ephrem Syrus (4.D. 300-350)), in modern times has 
been held by Hengstenberg, Auberlen, Hofmann, Keil, Dr. Pusey, 
Dr. Rule, and many others: the Grecian is advocated by Ewald, 
Delitzsch, Bishop Westcott, Prof. Bevan, Dr. Driver, and the new 
Bible Dictionaries. 

Closely connected with the interpretation of the fourth kingdom is 
the discussion raised in recent years as to the date and authorship of 
the book. If, according to the uniform tradition of the Jewish and 
Christian Church, it was written by Daniel in Babylon, not only is 
the historicity of chs. 1-6 assured, but the prophecies concerning 
Antiochus Epiphanes, uttered four centuries before the event, stand 
out as a marvel of prediction. The possibility is not to be denied : the 
issue must not be decided either by a virtual elimination of the 
predictive element from Old Testament prophecy, or, on the other 
hand, by a care for tradition and the inspiration and authority of 
Scripture which refuses candid consideration of the grounds on which 
the Book of Daniel is now, by a large number of scholars, assigned to 
a date long subsequent to the Captivity. The grounds are mainly 
these : 

(1) The main interest of chs. 7-12 centres in the times of Antiochus 


536 LATER PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


Epiphanes : the analogy of other prophetic writings would suggest 
that it is there we should look for the historical standpoint of the 
prophet. If he writes as a captive in Babylon how strangely he sub- 
ordinates the needs and sufferings and hopes of his own generation to 
those of a remote posterity ! 

(2) The series of predictions in ch. 11 are, in their minuteness 
of detail, unlike any other prophecies of Scripture. To this it is 
replied that we have no right to limit the method of possible Divine 
communication : but it is suggested by some that the outline given 
to the prophet may have been filled up by some later ‘targumist’ and 
transferred from the margin to the text. 

(3) Some historical details of chs. 1-6 are difficult to reconcile with 
the fuller knowledge of Babylonian times reached by modern dis- 
coveries : especially the identity of ‘ Darius the Mede.’ 

(4) It is held that various indications of late date are afforded by the 
book itself, its place in the canon, and its use in subsequent literature. 

(a) The linguistic phenomena are peculiar. The section 27° is 
in Aramaic: fifteen words from the Persian and three from the Greek 
occur : the Hebrew is that of the later language. The Persian words, 
it has been said, presuppose a period after the Persian empire had 
been well established : the Greek words demand, the Hebrew supports, 
and the Aramaic permits, a date after the conquest of Palestine by Alexander 
the Great (B.C. 332) *. 

(b) In the Hebrew canon, Daniel is not placed among the ‘Prophets’ 
(though that section contains the post-exilie writings of Haggai, 
Zechariah, and Malachi), but among the Kethubhim (Hagiographa), 
a collection which, there is reason for-thinking, marks the latest 
stage in the formation of the Old Testament (see § 21). 

(c) The predictions in the Book are, for their minuteness and 
particularity, up to a certain point, unlike any other prophecies to 
be found in Holy Scripture. It is replied that possibly some of 
the suspected details have been added by ‘targumists’ and trans- 
ferred from the margin. 

For these and other reasons the book is assigned by many modern 
critics to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes, between the desecration 
of the Temple and his death (168-164). It thus becomes an appeal to 
the author's suffering countrymen, based on reminders of what God 
had wrought for His steadfast servants of old, permeated by a religious 
interpretation of history as the unfolding of the Divine purpose for 
His people, and culminating in a reassertion of the Messianic hope 
and the final triumph of the Kingdom of God. 

No judgement is here pronounced on the sufficiency of these reasons, 
But it may be pointed out— 

(1) That the late date leaves untouched the suppositioua—most 


®* Dr. Driver, Daniel, p. Lxiii. 





| 


s 


HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION OF DANIEL 537 


probable on other grounds—that the author incorporated true traditions 
of Daniel and his companions in Babylon. 

(2) That not only does the book still contain ‘ genuine predictions’ 
(Driver, op. cit. p. lxvii), but, more especially, that in its religious 
interpretation of history and of the circumstances amid which it was 
written, it exhibits in a marked degree the characteristics of inspired 
prophecy. 

(3) That to suggest an alternative between a genuine work of 
Daniel and a ‘forgery’ is to misapprehend the literary methods of 
the ancient world. Apart from the facts of narrative in the third 
person, already referred to, it is quite conceivable that this Eastern 
writer would clothe his inspired message to his persecuted compatriots 
in story and vision gathered round the ancient traditions of Daniel in 
Babylon. : 

(4) That, finally, the religious value of the book, its revelation of 
the Divine working, its promise of the Christ, and all moral and 
spiritual lessons which it has so freely yielded to the Church in all 
ages, have been, and must ever remain, independent of any conclusion 
of criticism as to when and by whom it was written. 

The arguments for the traditional date and authorship of Daniel 
may be seen in the treatise of Hengstenberg On Daniel; in the 
summary of evidence given by the same author in Kitto’s Bib. 
; Cyclopedia; in the General Introduction of Havernick; in Moses 
Stuart’s Commentary ; in the Lectures of Dr. Pusey ; in Zéckler’s Com- 
mentary (Lange’s Bibelwerk) ; in Auberlen, Daniel and the Revelation, 
Eng. Tr. 1887 ; and in J. M. Fuller’s Introduction, ‘Speaker’s Commen- 
tary.’ For critical views adverse to its Babylonian date, Professor 
Cheyne’s article Daniel in the Encyclopedia Britannica may be con- 
sulted; also Professor Bevan’s Commentary; Dr. Driver, Cambridge 
Bible for Schools, Introd. § 3; Dean Stanley, ‘Note on the date of the 
Book of Daniel,’ Lect. Hist. Jewish Church (XLII) ; Dean Farrar in The 
Exposiior’s Bible ; and the articles in the new Bible Dictionaries. 


355. Parallels to Daniel in the Apocalypse of John :— 


Dn 2“ (the kingdom of God) Dn 7° (the ministering myriads) 


Rev 11) 1210, 

5*S (description of idolatry) 

Rev 9” 

77-21-24 (the beast with horns) 

Rev 134257, 

7° (the thrones) Rey 204. 
ib. (the Ancient of days) 

Rey 1% 


Rey 5. 

75 (the final Advent) 
Rey 17 14% 
7°? (judgement given to the 


Saints) Rev 20%. 
7 127 (‘a time and times,’ 
&e.) Rey 12*4, 


8° (falling stars) Rey 12*. 


- 






538 LATER PROPHETICAL BOOKS 


Dn 12* 836 (the vision to be Dn 12! (the great tribulation) 


sealed) Rev ro! (22!°). Rev 7, 
10°* (the Man: see 7”) ib. (the book of life) : 
Rev 2° 19". Rev 17° 2015 ar?’. | 
ro!S21 (Michael the prince 127 (the angelic oath) | 
Rev 127. Rev ro*-*, 


Compare also the form of benediction, ch. 4}, with 1 Pet 12 2 Pet 17 
and Ju?: the reference to ch. 6” in Heb 11, and especially ‘the 
abomination of desolation,’ ch. 12", with our Lord’s citation, 
Mt 24%. (In Mark 13'* the reference to ‘Daniel the prophet’ is 
omitted in the best texts.) One of the sources of our Lord’s self- — 
chosen title of ‘Son of man’ is almost certainly Dn 7®. . 


The Restoration. : | 
356. Cyrus.—The restorer of the Jewish nation was 
Cyrus the Great, renowned as the founder of the Persian 
Empire, but known in Scripture as the ‘shepherd,’ the © 
‘servant,’ the ‘anointed,’ of Jehovah, in the accomplishment — 
of His purpose in regard to His people: Is 4478 45) 7 
2 Ch 36*°-*5 Ezra 11-4, Herodotus describes the rise of © 
Cyrus to power, and his many campaigns, one of which led 
to the downfall of the Babylonian empire, while Xenophon 
weaves the facts of his career into a biographical romance. 
In one prophetic description Cyrus appears as making his 
way by Divine guidance through the ‘two-leaved’ gates of 
Babylon ; another inspired record shows the handwriting 
on the wall which announced in the midst of a festival the 
extinction of the kingdom. Secular historians relate > how 
Cyrus defeated the forces of Babylon in the open field, and 
captured the city without a struggle by entering its un- 
defended river-gates on a day given up to careless revelry. 
In some tumult that ensued, the young vice-king ° lost his 


* See Byron’s poem, Belshazzar's Feast. It is, however, remarkable 
that Daniel is there described as ‘a stranger and a youth.’ The 
prophet was a youth when the Captivity began—seventy years before! 

> See Herod. i. 190; Xen. Cyrop. vii. 5, 15. 

© For the identification of Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, see § 192, 
p- 316. 


THE BOOK OF EZRA 539 


life; his father, Nabonidus, surrendered about the same time 
from Borsippa, where he had sought a refuge, and was 
allowed to live in Carmania. 

Cyrus, in his decree, acknowledges the sovereignty of 
Jehovah. It is related by Josephus that he was influenced 
to this course by being shown his name in the prophecy of 
Isaiah. The recorded language of the king (2 Ch 36%, re- 
peated Ezr 1*) well accords with this statement: ‘All the 
kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, 
given me, and He hath charged me to build Him a house in 
Jerusalem.’ The politic monarch recognizes the gods of the 
nations which he overthrew; but he gives special honour 
to the God of Israel. In his own inscriptions recently 
brought to light*, he declares his resolve to permit the © 
subjects of the conquered states generally to return to their 
homes and re-establish their worship, adding that he was 
bidden to this course by the Babylonian god Merodach. 

The results of the king’s decree and the subsequent 
history of the Jews until the close of the Old Testament 
canon are found in the historical books of Hzra, NenemraH, 
and Estuer, and in the prophecies of Hacear, ZECHARIAH, 
and Matacut; which thus form a separate and most im- 
portant section of Scripture. 


The Book of Ezra 
B. C. 5360-457.- 

357. Personal history.—Ezra was one of the captives 
at Babylon, where, probably, he was born. He was son 
(grandson) of Seraiah (7'), the chief priest, who was slain at 
Riblah, after the taking of Jerusalem (2 Ki 25'*~4), and 
therefore a descendant of Aaron, through Hilkiah, the 
ilustrious high-priest in Josiah’s time. He was a ‘ready 
scribe,’ or rather instructor, in the Law of God. He was 
a man of deep humility (g'°—)), of fervent zeal for God’s 

* See § 192, p. 317. 


540 LATER HISTORICAL BOOKS ; 


honour (7'° 821~%8), deeply grieving over the sins of the 
people, and sparing no pains to bring them to repentance 
(9° 10°-!°), He joined the Jews at Jerusalem many years 
after their return, going up thither with a second large com- 
pany. 

Parts of the book (48-6'8 712-26) are written in Aramaic, and show 
incorporated material consisting chiefly of conversations or decrees in 
that tongue. Ezra appears in the first person as the author of 777 8% 
9: other narrative portions of the book speak of him in the third 
person. The whole period comprehended in the book, which is 
evidently a continuation of Chronicles (2 Ch 36-75 and Eze 1!-%), 
extends from B.c. 536 to 457, or about seventy-nine years. The Book 
of Nehemiah, part of Ezra in the Hebrew canon, narrates the joint 
activity of Ezra and Nehemiah from 445-432. 

The history in this book consists of two portions, separated 
from each other by fifty-eight years, including the whole 
reign of Xerxes. The former part, ending 6”, contains the © 
history of the returning exiles, and of the rebuilding of the 
Temple, which had been decreed by Cyrus, in the year B.c. 536, 
and was completed in the reign of Darius the son of Hystaspes 
(generally distinguished by historians as Darius Hystaspes) 
in the year B.c. 515. The latter portion, from 7', contains 
the personal history of Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem, with com- 
mission from Artaxerxes Longimanus, in the year B. ©. 457; 
and his exertions for the reformation of the people *. : 


358. Outline.—The contents of the book may be divided ~ 
as follows :— 

I. Lhe return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, © 
and the rebuilding of the Temple, 1-6. 

The proclamation of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusa-— 
lem and the Temple (1). List of the people who returned — 
with Zerubbabel, grandson of King Jehoiachin, as governor, — 
and Joshua, grandson of Jehozadak, as high-priest, with : 
their offerings for the Temple (2). Erection of the altar of : 


* For the succession of Persian kings after Cyrus, see CHRONOLOGICAL 
APPENDIX. 


EZRA AND PROPHECY 541 


burnt-offering ; and laying the foundation of the Temple (3). 
Opposition of the Samaritans, and suspension of the build- 
ing for fourteen years (4). Prophecies of Haggai and Ze- 
chariah; recommencement of the building; letter of the 
Samaritans to Darius (5). Decree of Darius reaffirming that 
of Cyrus ; completion and dedication of the Temple (6). 

In the account given of the Return and of the Temple building 
there appears a ‘Sheshbazzar’ as well as a ‘Zerubbabel,’ and they 
‘have often been regarded as one and the same person under different 
names. Sheshbazzar led the company from Jerusalem, 1", but 
Zerubbabel also conducted them, 2” 3”. Sheshbazzar, again, laid the 
foundation of the Temple, 51°, but Zerubbabel superintended the work, 
38 Hag 1” 2! Zec 4! All this suggests identity (so Josephus). 
But some have supposed that Sheshbazzar was a son of Jeconiah 
(perhaps the ‘Shenazzar’ of 1 Ch 318), brother, therefore, of Salathiel 
and uncle of Zerubbabel. In the apocryphal 1 Esd 2!” he is called 
‘Sanabassar.’ 

II. zra’s journey to Jerusalem, and the reformations 

which he effected, 7-10. 

Ezra’s commission from Artaxerxes ; and his journey from 
Babylon to Jerusalem, with his companions (7, 8). Ezra’s 
mourning for the sins of the people; and confession and 
prayer (9). Repentance and reformation of the people (Io). 


359. Connexion with prophecy.—The first part of the 
book should be read in connexion with the contemporaneous 
prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah. The coincidences with 
the former have been thought to show that Haggai was the 
annalist before Ezra’s day. Compare Ezr 51-2 with Hag 1; 
Ezr 3°-1°—? with Hag 218 ; as well as the repeated references 
in both books to the Law of Moses ®. 

In the return of the Jews from Babylon we see the fulfilment of 
prophecy (Is 4478 Jer 25!2 29!°). This restoration of the Jewish Church, 


Temple, and worship was an event of the highest consequence, as 
tending to preserve true religion in the world, and preparing the way 


® See further instances in the article on the Book of Ezra by 
Professor J. M. Fuller in Smith’s Dict. Bible, and ed. 


‘ 
av 


542 LATER HISTORICAL BOOKS 







for the appearance of the Great Deliverer, an ancestor of whom, 
Zerubbabel, was appointed in the providence of God to lead His 
people from Babylon. 

The deliverance of the Jewish people is much spoken of by the 
prophets as a most glorious display of the providence of God; and, 
like the redemption of their forefathers out of Egypt, it may be 
viewed as a type of the great salvation of Christ, and of the journey — 
of His redeemed people to the heavenly Canaan, under the care and 
guidance of God their Saviour, Is 35'° 42!® 51". 

Among the remarkable dispensations of Providence recorded in this — 
history, we may notice especially how wonderfully God inclined the 
hearts of several heathen princes—Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes—to — 
favour and protect His people, and to aid them in the work of rebuilding — 
their city and Temple (chs. 1, 4,6, 7). We see, too, how God overruled — 
the opposition of the Samaritans, the decree of Darius being much more ~ 
favourable than that of Cyrus (Ezr 1 and 5°). There is also another 
display of God's special and discriminating providence in the fulfil- 
ment of His promises to His people. Whilstin the land of Samaria 
colonies of strangers had been planted, which filled the territory of 
Israel with a heathen race, so as to prevent the return of the ancient 
inhabitants; it appears that, in the land of Judah, full room was left 
for the return and restoration of the Jews. 


360. Traditions respecting Ezra.—Unlike Nehemiah, 
Ezra seems to have remained in Jerusalem. Thirteen years 
after his first visit there, he appears again upon the scene 
(Ezr 7° Ne 81). According to Jewish tradition, five great 
works are ascribed to him: (1) the foundation of the ‘ Great 
Synagogue,’ (2) the settlement of the canon of Serip- 
ture, with the threefold division into Law, Prophets, and 
Hagiographa, (3) the substitution of the square Chaldee 
characters for the old Hebrew and Samaritan, (4) the com- 
pilation of Chronicles, possibly of Esther, with the addition 
of Nehemiah’s history to his own, and (5) the establishment 
of synagogues. 

But much of this is legendary, and all that is certain 
about him in these respects is intimated in chs. 7-10. 
He also zealously co-operated for a time with Nehemiah, 
who succeeded him in the government, in promoting the 
reformation of the people, 


THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH 543 


The Book of Nehemiah 


B. C. 444-418. 

361. Authorship.—This book is in the Hebrew canon 
united with Ezra. Ch. 7°~** was probably extracted from 
Zerubbabel’s register, as in Ezr 2; and r2!-*° from the 
‘book of the Chronicles’; see verse 23. There are clear 
indications of Nehemiah’s authorship in 1-7 and 1277~+# 
13* °!: the section 12*!~—13° uses the third person. 

The Book of Nehemiah takes up the history of the Jews 
about twelve years after the close of the Book of Ezra; and 
gives an account of the improvements in the city of Jeru- 
salem, and of the reformations among the people, which were 
carried out by Nehemiah. 


Though the Temple had been rebuilt under the administration of 
Ezra, the walls and gates of the city were yet in the state of ruin in 
which the Chaldzans had left them ; and consequently the inhabi- 
tants were exposed to the assault of every enemy. Nehemiah was the 
instrument raised up for their protection. Though a Jew and a 
captive, he had been, through the overruling providence of God, 
appointed cupbearer to King Artaxerxes Longimanus in his royal 
residence at Shushan—an office which was one of the most honour- 
able and confidential at the court. Though thus in the midst of ease 
and wealth, yet when he heard of the mournful condition of his 
countrymen he was deeply afilicted by it. He made it the subject of 
earnest prayer ; and after four months, the sadness of his countenance 
having revealed to the king his sorrow of heart, an opportunity was 
given him of petitioning for leave to go to Jerusalem. 


362. Outline.—The king appoints him governor of that 
city, with a commission to rebuild the walls, and protect the 
people, 1-28. Nehemiah accordingly travels to Jerusalem 
and makes by night the circuit of the ruined walls, 2°~ 1. 

The rebuilding of the city wall was much impeded by 
Sanballat and Tobiah, leading men in the rival colony of 
Samaria ; they first scoffed at the attempt, then threatened 
to attack the workmen, and finally used various stratagems 
to weaken Nehemiah’s authority, and even to take his life 


544 LATER HISTORICAL BOOKS 


(219-20 41-5 61-14), The priests and people, however, divided 
into companies, zealously carried on the work (3). But 
in addition to dangers from without, Nehemiah encountered 
hindrances from his own people, arising out of the general 
distress, which was aggravated by the cruel exactions of the 
nobles and rulers, 41°-5°._ These grievances were redressed 
on the earnest remonstrance of Nehemiah, who had himself 
set a striking example of economy in his office, 5°. It 
appears, also, that some of the chief men in Jerusalem were 
at that time in conspiracy with Tobiah against Nehemiah, 
6'7-19, Thus the wall was built in ‘troublous times’ 
(Dn 9%), and completed in fifty-two days, 6%1® Its com- 
pletion was joyously celebrated by a solemn dedication 
under Nehemiah’s direction, 1227~4°, 

Nehemiah next turned his attention to other measures for 
the public good. He appointed various officers (7'~* 12**”) ; 
and roused the people to greater interest in religion, by 
a public reading of the Law by Ezra, who here reappears. 
This was followed by an unexampled celebration of the 
Feast of Tabernacles, the observance of a national fast, 
and by the éntering into a solemn covenant ‘to walk in 
God’s law,’ 8-10. ; 

The inhabitants of the city being as yet too few to ensure 
its prosperity, Nehemiah brought one out of every ten in 
the country to take up his abode in the ancient capital, 
which then presented so few inducements to settlers that 
‘the people blessed all the men that willingly offered them- 
selves to dwell at Jerusalem,’ 7* 11}. 

After about twelve years (5!*), Nehemiah returned to 
Babylonia (12°). How long he remained there is unknown. 
‘ After certain days,’ by leave of the king, he came again to 
Jerusalem, where he exerted himself vigorously for the 
further reformation of his countrymen, particularly in the cor- 
reetion of abuses which had crept in during his absence, in 
particular the intrusion of the Moabite and Ammonite, espe- 


THE BOOK OF ESTHER 545 


cially Tobiah, into the precincts of the Temple; the neglect 

of proper provision for the Levites, the violation of the 
Sabbath by trading, and the toleration of intermarriages 
with the heathen. On this last point, see the Book of 
Malachi, 21!-%, Whether Nehemiah returned to his royal 
mnaster, or remained as governor (Tirshatha) of Juda, is 
unknown. Noaccountis given of hisdeath. With his book 
closes the History of the Old Testament. But in the lists of 
‘priests (12) there are additions by a later editor; as the 
succession (verse 22) is carried down to the days of ‘ Darius 
the Persian’ (Codomannus) B. c. 336-331. 


Nehemiah presents a noble example of true patriotism, founded on 
the fear of God (51), and seeking the religious welfare of the state. 
His respect for the Divine Law, his reverence for the Sabbath (1318), 
his devout acknowledgement of God in all things (11! a!8), his practical 
perception of God’s character (44 9°55), his union of watchfulness 
and prayer (4°), his humility in ascribing all good in himself to the 
grace of God (2!% 7°), are all highly commendable. In the ninth 
chapter we haye an instructive summary of the history of the Jews 
in its most important light, showing at once what God is, and what 
men are. Few books, indeed, of the Bible contain a richer illustra- 
tion of Divine philosophy—that is, of true religion taught by example. 


~The Book of Esther 


@. Br C. 473. 

363. Jews in foreign lands.—Few, comparatively, of 
the Jews had availed themselves of the privilege to return 
to the land of their fathers. Most of the existing race had 
been born in Babylonia; they had made that country, as 
well as Persia afterwards, their home, and had become 
surrounded by associations and comforts not easily to be 
abandoned. Not more than 50,000 persons had gone up 
under Zerubbabel ; and the second band, under Hzra, more 
than seventy years later, numbered in allabout 6,000. Yet 
later, other bands probably sought the city and Temple of 
God, but even still the great bulk of the people remained in 
the land of their exile. 

Nun 


546 LATER HISTORICAL BOOKS 


The Book of Esther, reckoned by the Jews among the Megilloth 
(§ 23), belongs to the period between the completion of the Temple 
and the mission of Ezra (516-458). Xerxes, called in this book 
‘Ahasuerus,’ the son of the Darius mentioned in Ezra (Darius 
Hystaspes), was now upon the throne. His capricious tyranny is 
vividly depicted by Herodotus (ix). There can be little doubt that 
the series of festivals described in ch. 1 was to inaugurate Xerxes’ 
expedition to Greece, and that the marriage with Esther, ‘in the 
seventh year of his reign,’ took place after the great defeats at 
Salamis, Platwa, and Mycalé, B.c. 480-479. Xerxes, according to 
Herodotus, consoled himself under his humiliation by the delights of 
his harem (ix. 108). 

The narrative may have been taken substantially from the records 
of the Persian kingdom, see a*° 64. This supposition accounts for 
the details given concerning the empire of Xerxes, and for the exact- 
ness with which the names of his ministers and of Haman’s sons are 
recorded; also for the Jews being mentioned only in the third person, 
and Esther being frequently designated by the title of ‘the queen,’ and 
Mordecai by the epithet of ‘the Jew.’ It would also account for the 
secular tone of the book, the name of God being not once mentioned. 


364. Outline.—The book describes the royal feast of 
Ahasuerus, and the divorce of Vashti (1). The elevation of 
Esther to the Persian throne four years afterwards and the 
service rendered to the King by Mordecai, in detecting a 
plot against his life (2). The promotion of Haman, and his 
purposed destruction of the Jews in the fifth year after the 
King’s union with Esther (3). The consequent affliction of 
the Jews, and the measures taken by them (4). The defeat 
of Haman’s plot against Mordecai, through the instrumen- 
tality of Esther; the honour done to Mordecai; and the 
execution of Haman (5, 6, 7). The defeat of Haman’s plot 
against the Jews; the institution of the festival of Purim, 
in commemoration of this deliverance; and Mordecai’s 
_ advancement (8, 9, 10). 

The Book of Esther shows how these Jews, though scattered among 
the heathen, were preserved, even when doomed by a royal edict, 
according to the law of the kingdom irreversible. The only way for 


the people to preserve their lives was to resist by force the execution 
of the decree, a fact which accounts for the terrible details which 






, 
: 


THE BOOK OF HAGGAI 547 


follow. It may be reverently said that, although the name of God is 
not found in the book, His hand is plainly seen, anticipating threatened 
evil, defeating and overruling it to the greater good of the Jews, and 
even of the heathen (1, 2, 4-10). Let it be remembered that it was not 
the safety of the Jews in Persia only that was in peril; if Haman 
had succeeded, as the power of Persia was then supreme at Jerusalem 
and throughout Asia, the Jews would probably everywhere have 
perished, and with them the whole of the visible Church of God. 

The institution of the festival of Purim* (‘the Lots’) observed by 
the Jews in all lands with mirth and thanksgiving, a month before 
the Passover, is a standing memorial of this national deliverance. 
In the morning the Megillah of Esther is read and expounded in the 
synagogues, the rest of the day being devoted to holiday amusements. 
According to Jewish tradition, ‘all the feasts shall cease in the days 
of the Messiah, except the Feast of Purim.” Some have thought that 
the Purim was ‘the feast’ mentioned Jn 51. Otherwise there is no 
reference to the book in the New Testament. 


PROPHETS OF THE RESTORATION 
Haggai, Zechariah, ‘ Malachi’ 


Book of Haggai 
B.C. 520. 


365. Period of these prophecies.—The permission of 
Cyrus to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem had for several 
years borne but little fruit. An altar of burnt-offering had 
been erected ; and the yearly festivals were observed with 
such maimed rites as were possible. The foundation of the 
Temple had now been laid ; but the work had been greatly 
hindered by the Samaritans and other enemies of the 
Jews, even in the days of Cyrus, and after his death and 
the accession of the usurper Smerdis it was altogether 
stopped. The dispirited Jews made no attempt to resume 
the building, and the bare foundations remained for some 
fourteen years, when two prophets were raised up by 
God to stimulate Zerubbabel and the people to new effort. 


® The origin of the word is uncertain. See Hastings’ Bib. Dict. s.v. 
Nn2 


548 PROPHETS OF THE RESTORATION " 


Of these prophets the first-mentioned is Haggai, other- 
wise unknown. He was probably born during the Cap- 
tivity, and was among the number of those who returned 
with Zerubbabel from Babylon. In each mention of his 
name he is termed, as if by way of emphasis, ‘the prophet’ 
(Ezr 516"). The history embodied in his book must be read — 
in connexion with that in Ezra(5, 6). The appeal to Darius, 
successful as against the Samaritans and their abettors, 
had to be followed by an appeal to the people, who were 
slow to recommence the work. The time, they said, was 
not come for Jehovah’s house to be built. They were more 
anxious to build and adorn their own houses, to cultivate 
their fields, and multiply their flocks. This worldliness, 
however, brought its own punishment. They ‘looked for 
much,’ and ‘it came to little.” Drought and mildew were 
sent to rebuke their neglect of what ought to have been 
their first work, and Haggai and Zechariah were raised up 
to reform and encourage them, 1*~1! 2'°~!® Zee 8°—12, 


366. Outline.—This book contains four prophetic mes- 
sages (11 21-10-20), al] delivered in about four months. They 
are so brief that they are supposed to be only a summary 
of the original prophecies. 

In the first, Haggai reproves the Jews for neglecting the 
Temple, and promises that the Divine favour shall attend 
its erection. Twenty-four days after this prophecy, Zerub- 
babel and Joshua, and all the people, resumed their work, 
and were encouraged by a gracious message from God. 

About four weeks afterwards, the zeal of the people 
appears to have cooled; and many doubts arose in their 
minds. To remove these, Haggai declares that the Lord : 
of hosts is with them; and that the glory of the new 
Temple shall be greater than that of the former, 2'~*. 

Two months later, Haggai addresses them a third time, 
rebuking their listlessness, and promising them the Divine | 


| 
: 


THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH 549 


blessing from the time the foundation of the Lord’s house 
was laid, 2!°-'". On the same day another prophecy was 
delivered, addressed to Zerubbabel, the head and repre- 
sentative of the family of David, and the person with 
whom the genealogy of the Messiah (see Mt 1'% Lu 377) 
began after the Captivity, promising the preservation of the 
people of God, amidst the fall and ruin of the kingdoms of 
the world, 229-73, 


These signal predictions were both referred by the Jews to the time 
of the Messiah, Eph 21! Heb 127” (Grotius). The second Temple was 
to witness the presence of the Great Teacher Himself; for though 
that Temple was nearly wholly rebuilt by Herod, Jewish writers still 
speak of it asthe second. In the closing prediction (2”°-”*) Christ Him- 
self is spoken of under the type of Zerubbabel; and the temporal 
commotions which preceded His first coming, and are to precede His 
second, are represented by the shaking and overthrow of earthly 
kingdoms. 


Haggai and the New Testament. 


367. Thera is in the New Testament but one quotation from 
Haggai: ch. 2°, the shaking of the heaven, Heb 12%—%7. For the 
meaning of the phrase in verse 7, rendered in A. V. ‘the desire of all 
nations,’ see § 159. 


The Book of Zechariah 


B.C, 520-518, 


368. The prophet and his time.—dZechariah, the son 
of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo, was of the priestly 
tribe (see Ne r2‘-!*), and returned from Babylon, when 
quite a youth, with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. He began 
to prophesy about two months after Haggai (1! Ezr 5' 6 
Hag 1'), in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, and con- 
tinued to prophesy for two years (71). He had the same 
general object as Haggai, to encourage and urge the Jews 
to rebuild the Temple. The Jews, we are told, ‘ prospered 


550 PROPHETS OF THE RESTORATION 


through the prophesying’ (Ez 6"*), and in about six years 
the Temple was finished. 

Zechariah collected his own prophecies (1° 2*), and is very 
frequently quoted in the New Testament. Indeed, next to 
Isaiah, Zechariah has the most frequent foreshadowings of 
the character and coming of our Lord. 


It has been held by many critics that the chapters after 8 are by 
another hand, and even by two authors. Certainly the style of the 
two great discourses, 9-11 and 12-14, is very different from that of 
the former part of the book. The visions have ceased: the circum- 
stances are wholly changed: the prophecy rises to a more solemn 
strain. The evangelist Matthew, 27° 1%, seems to ascribe Zec 111° to 
the prophet Jeremiah. This, however, may be an error of some early 
copyist, perpetuated in later MSS. On the whole, the question of 
a double or triple authorship seems insoluble. It is noteworthy that 
among those who attribute the latter part of the book to another 
prophet, some place him long before Zechariah’s time, some consider- 
ably after. The critical canons which lead from the selfsame data to 
such opposite conclusions must be pronounced somewhat uncertain, 
On the one hand, it is quite supposable that Zechariah himself 
may have varied his style according to his subject, especially after 
the lapse of years, while on the other, the words of the learned 
Joseph Mede (1632) have much force. ‘It may seem,’ he says, ‘the 
evangelist would inform us that these latter chapters ascribed to 
Zachary are indeed the prophecies of Jeremy, and that the Jews had not 
rightly attributed them. . . . As for their being joined to the prophecies 
of Zachary, that proves no more that they are his, than the like 
adjoining of Agur’s proverbs to Solomon’s proves that they are 
therefore Solomon’s, or that all the Psalms are David's because joined 
in one volume with “ David’s Psalms.”’ See the whole question 
discussed in Dr. C. H. H. Wright’s Bampton Lectures, 1879, where the 
unity of the book is strongly maintained : also Dr. Driver, Introduction 
to the Literature of the Old Testament, for the opposite view. 


While the immediate object of Zechariah was to encour- 
age the Jews in the restoration of publie worship, he has 
other objects more remote and important. His prophecies 
extend to the ‘times of the Gentiles’; but in Zechariah 
the history of the chosen people occupies the centre of his 
predictions; and that history is set forth both in direct 
prophecy and in symbolical acts or visions. 





OUTLINE OF ZECHARIAH 551 


369. Outline.—The first part of the book falls into two 
main sections :— 

I. Chapters 1-6, after the warnings given in 116, recount 
eight visions, seen in one eventful night. The first, of 
angelic horsemen, Jehovah’s messengers, who report that 
all the earth is at rest. Yet the Jews, after seventy years, 
were still molested ; the angel of Jehovah asks how long; 
and good and comfortable words are spoken in reply in 
the hearing of the prophet, 1717. In the second, the 
prophet sees the four horns, by which the Jews had been 
scattered ; and also four smiths, by whose aid the horns 
are to be cast down, 18-74, The prophet has now a third 
vision, of a man with a measuring line, to imply the 
rebuilding and enlargement of Jerusalem: she shall over- 
flow, or break down her walls, and Jehovah will be at 
once a wall of fire round about her and the glory in the 
midst. He exhorts the Jews still in Babylon to return, 
- and foretells yet larger accessions, 2!~1°, The fourth vision 
typifies the acquittal and restoration of the priesthood in 
the person of Joshua; the great prophecies being then re- 
peated of the Branch out of David’s root (Is 4? Jer 23° 33) ; 
and of a Stone for a foundation, having seven eyes, to indi- 
cate perfect intelligence ; and divinely engraven or adorned. 
In the predicted day all shall dwell safely and in peace, 
3) 1°. In the jifth vision, the prophet sees a golden candle- 
stick, supplied by two olive-trees dropping their oil into it; 
and these show how, by the Spirit of Jehovah in Zerub- 
babel and Joshua, the restored community should receive 
Divine grace, and the Temple be completed, ‘not by might 
nor by power’ (verse 6), and against all opposition (verse 7), 
4°, The sixth vision, of a flying roll, teaches the swift 
judgements that are to fall upon thieves and false swearers, 
5' 4. ‘The seventh, of an ephah, or measure, and a woman 
shut up in it with a talent of lead upon her (wickedness), 
and two winged women carrying the whole to Shinar, 


gee . 4 , 
552 PROPHETS.OF THE RESTORATION | 


promises the removal of the people’s sin to Babylon, the | 
land of their captivity, 55-4. In the eighth vision are sent — 
out chariots and horses, instruments of Divine judgement, 
6'-§. Then is enjoined a closing symbolic action, Joshua 
to be crowned with two crowns of silver and gold, a type of 
the union of the priestly and kingly offices in the Messiah, 
by whom the true Temple of Jehovah should be consum- 
mated, 6°~), 

2. Chs. 7,8. In the second part, messengers from Babylon 
come to learn from the prophet whether Jehovah had sanc- 
tioned the new fasts, instituted at the commencement of 
the Captivity, on account of the destruction of the city and 
Temple. The prophet replies that God had not sanctioned 
them, and that what He requires is a return to obedience, 
which the priests and people had alike neglected, 7. Pre- 
dictions of restored prosperity, intermixed with warnings, 
follow: the fasting seasons are to become cheerful feasts, 
and the Jews are to be a universal blessing, 8. 

The remainder of the book is also in two divisions. 

1. Chs. 9-11. These, whether by Zechariah or some 
earlier or later prophet, contain predictions of Zion’s 
triumph. The powers of the world are to be humbled 
before her, her King is to appear in majesty and meekness, 
and (in the language of Psalm 72) His dominion is to be 
from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the 
earth (9, 10). Chapter 11 is again dark; opening with an 
outburst of sorrow for overwhelming calamity (verses 1-4). 
The reason is found in the condutt of the ‘shepherds’ 
of the people. In vision, or allegory, the prophet per- | 
sonated a good shepherd (verse 7)—‘So I fed the flock ’"— 
‘the miserable sheep !’—his two staves, Beauty and Bands, 
being an emblem of graciousness and union. But the 
result was failure: the shepherd broke the staves, surrender- 
ing his thankless task ; and when he applied for his wages 
due was mocked with the offer of the price of a slave. 





THE BOOK OF MALACHI 553 


This was indignantly refused—‘cast to the potter’; and 
the substitution of a ‘foolish’ or worthless shepherd leads 
to ruin. The passage 137° seems to belong to this pro- 
phecy. The whole delineation furnishes an expressive type 
of the rejection in after ages of the Good Shepherd, and 
the catastrophe that followed. 

2. Chs. 12-14. This series of prophecies opens with 
a siege of confederate peoples against Jerusalem. They are 
utterly defeated, 121-19, The Jews mourn over their sins ; 
a fountain is opened for sin and for uncleanness; the 
idols shall be cut off; false prophets shall cease, 12!1-13°, 
Another assault is made upon Jerusalem, which is destroyed, 
and the people scattered. Jehovah Himself appears to 
deliver His people, standing upon the Mount of Olives, 
which parts asunder to open up a way for them to escape. 
The besiegers are destroyed, leaving only a remnant who 
adopt the worship of Jehovah, and go up to Jerusalem 
' every year to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles: on every- 
thing in the city, down to the very pots, shall be inscribed, 
‘Holy unto the Lord ’ (14). 


References to Zechariah in the New Testament. 

18 Rev 62458, 

37 Ju %. 

3° Rev 5°. 

816 Eph 425 121-10, 

9° The entrance of the King into Jerusalem, Mt 21° Jn 12!4-15, 
1118 The thirty pieces of silver, Mt 27%1° 
_r2!° Looking to the pierced One, Jn 198” Rev 1’. 
13° The smitten Shepherd, Mt 26%! Mk 1427. 
1411 No more curse, Rev 22°. 


The Book of Malachi 


C. B.C. 450. 
370. His name and ministry.—Malachi (‘My mes- 
senger’) is the last of the Old Testament prophets, as 
Nehemiah is the last of the historians ; and the time of his 


554 PROPHETS OF THE RESTORATION 





ministry may most probably be placed in the interval 
between Nehemiah’s two administrations 

Whether Malachi was the prophet’s own name, or a title expressive 
of his mission (1’ R. V. marg., cp. 3") is uncertain. Most expositors, with 
Calvin, incline to the latter view; the prophet, therefore, being 
anonymous. Still, it is convenient to retain his distinctive title. 

The second Temple was now built, and the service of 
the altar, with its offerings and sacrifices, was established, 
although perverted and profaned. Priests and people were 
alike delinquent, as Nehemiah found them ; and the pro- 
phet denounces the very evils which the historian de- 
scribes », 


371. Outline.—The divisions of the book are clearly 
marked :— 

I. Profanity in Divine service (ch. 1), especially disgrace- 
ful on two accounts: its ingratitude for Jehovah’s favours 
shown to Israel, in contrast with Edom (1?~5), and its con- 
trast with purer worship outside the Holy Land (11-1), 
This passage strikingly foreshadows the universal worship 
of the Church: ‘in every place incense is offered unto My 
name,’ anticipating our Lord's great declaration, Jn 474 

II. Priestly unfaithfulness (2'~*) If the people im- 
piously brought mean and blemished offerings to the altar, 
the priests, by their corrupt teachings and respect of persons, 
were guiltier still. 

III. Ungodly marriages (2'°1%), The great purpose of 
God in the marriage institution, to raise up a holy seed, was 
flagrantly transgressed by these alliances with the heathen ; 
and the divorces to which they led were the source not 
only of bitter domestic sorrow, but of weeping which 
covered the altar of Jehovah with tears (21°), 


* It may be gathered from 1° ‘the governor,’ that Nehemiah was 
not now in office. Cp. Ne 5'*45. 

> Ne 13)02 (Mal 381°) Ne 13°5—?8 (Mal 3!°"*) Ne 13” (Mal 28). Only 
the desecration of the Sabbath, Ne 13-®*, is omitted from the prophet’s 
catalogue of sins. 


, 
es 


THE BOOK OF MALACHI 555 


IV. Such sins would bring down judgement (2!’7-3°). 
Jehovah’s messenger would come to prepare His way: the 
Lord Himself would appear in His Temple to judge and to 
purify. 

V. The sin of the people in withholding their gifts from 
God is again set forth ; with the promise that faithfulness 
in this matter would be followed by temporal blessing: 
and the question of ungodly scoffers, whether religion was 
‘profitable, would be set at rest. In contrast with these 
scoffers is set the example of the faithful, who strengthened 
one another by holy fellowship and had a place in Jehovah’s 
“book of remembrance’ (371°). 

VI. The prophet closes the book with an assurance of 
approaching salvation, predicts the rising of the Sun of 
Righteousness, and enjoins until that day the observance 
of the Law. ‘To confirm it, and to prepare the way fo 
judgement, a second Elijah would appear (4). 


The last predictions of Old Testament Scripture, there- 
fore, are like the earliest. They rebuke corruption and 
promise deliverance. They uphold the authority of the 
first dispensation and reveal the second. The prophet 
is still the teacher ; and his last words are of the Law and 
spiritual obedience, and again of the Gospel and its healing 


glory (42). 


References to Malachi in the New Testament. 


3172. 17. The choice of Israel in preference to Edom is used to illus- 
trate Divine election, Ro 9}. 

The ‘messenger of God’ (3") and ‘Elijah the prophet’ (4°*) are 
identified with John the Baptist, Mt 11114 1711 Mk 1? 9!!-12 Tau 117-76 727, 

It is in Malachi (1") that the phrase ‘the table of the Lord’ is first 
used. Compare 1 Cor 107}. 

The beautiful image of the rising Sun of Righteousness has its 
parallel in ‘the Dayspring from on high,’ Lu 1, Compare Jn 1‘ 812 
9° 12°, 


Passages chiefly 


Mora, DEVOTIONAL. 
General . . . 


Specially to Israel . 
Specially to Judah. 
Hisronioat. . . . 


PREDICTIVE ae 
Israel . . . aie 


MC i, ow hoe 
Assyria, Nineveh . 


Chaldza, Babylon . 


Rgypt. <) oan 
Ethiopia 
Arabia . 
Edom 
BTORD \. Wis) te he 
Ammon... ... 
Philistia . . . 
Syria, Damascus . 
Pheenicia, Tyre . 
Other Nations . 
PREDICTIVE (B)— 
Our Lord’s first com- 
ing, ministry, and 
work (Prophecy and 
His kingdom . 


Israel and Judah in 
the ‘latter days.’ 


Ingathering of the 
entiles, 





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CHAPTER XVI 





POETICAL BOOKS AND ‘ WISDOM: 
LITERATURE’ 


On Hebrew Poetry 


373. Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry.—The divi- 
sion of the Old Testament Hagiographa, usually called the 
Poetical Books, comprises Job, Psalms, and Proverbs ; some 
adding Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon. In point of 
date, some portions of them are earlier, and others are later, 
than many parts of the historical books; but they are 
classed by themselves, as being almost wholly composed in 
Hebrew verse. The writings of the prophets are, for the 
most part, also in a poetical form. See § 374. 

The peculiar excellence of the Hebrew poetry is to be 
ascribed to the employment of it in the noblest service, 
that of religion. It presents the loftiest and most precious 
truths, expressed in the most appropriate language. 

There is so much uncertainty respecting the ancient 
pronunciation of the language, that it is not easy to 
determine the nature of the Hebrew versification. But 
much light has been thrown upon the subject, in later 
times, by Lowth, Jebb, Herder, and other scholars. The 
leading characteristics of Hebrew poetry may be described 
generally as consisting in the ornate and elevated character 
of the style, in the use of certain words and forms of words, 
in the sententious manner of expression, and especially in 
what is entitled parallelism; that is, a certain correspond- 


HEBREW PARALLELISM 559 


ence, either as to thought or language, or both, between 
the members of each period. Sometimes the secondary 
expression is little more than an echo of the first: some- 
times it excels it in force and beauty: sometimes it adds 
to it a new idea; sometimes, to heighten the impression, 
the main idea is expressed in contrast with some other. 
It is in a great measure owing to this structure of the 
sentences that our translation of these books has so much 
‘of a poetical cast; for being, for the most part, literal, it 
retains much both of the form and of the simple beauty of 
the Hebrew. 


374. Varieties of parallelism.—This poetical paral- 
lelism admits many varieties, more or less defined ®. 


In the simplest construction the first member, forming the rise of 
the verse, is succeeded by its counterpart, which forms the fall ; as in 

Ps 23): 

: The Loxp is my shepherd ; 
I shall not want. 

Sometimes the second member is an echo or an expansion of the 
first, expressing nearly the same sentiment in a varied form; as in 
Ps 19): 

The heavens declare the glory of God; 
And the firmament showeth His handywork. 

A part of the former member is often amplified in the latter ; as in 
Ps 112): 

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lorn, 
That delighteth greatly in His commandments. 

In other cases, a proposition too long for one member is extended 
through two or more, the first breaking off abruptly at an important 
part of the sentence ; as in Ps 110°: 

The Lorp at Thy right hand 
Shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath. 
Or an accessory sentence is subjoined in a second member; as in 
Job 13): 
Though He slay me, yet will I wait for Him; 
Nevertheless I will maintain my ways before Him (R.V.). 


* See the Book of Psalms, R.T.S., Introduction, from which some of 
the following paragraphs are taken. 


> 







560 THE POETICAL BOOKS | 


Or, to deepen the impression, the main idea is expressed in 
with some other; as in Ps 1°: 


For the Lorp knoweth the way of the righteous : 
But the way of the ungodly shall perish. 


This antithetical form, in which the idea contained in the second 
clause is contrasted, either in expression or in sense, with that in the 
first, is found mostly in the Book of Proverbs. See chs. 1a-15, and 
many similar instances. 

There are numerous parallel triplets: as Ps 1}: 


That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, 
Nor standeth in the way of sinners, 
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 


So Ps 68!*: 
Thou hast ascended on high, 
Thou hast led captivity captive, 
Thou hast received gifts for men, 
See also Ps 93°. 
There are, again, double parallelisms : as Ps 1031! ; 
As the heaven is high above the earth, - 
So great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. 
As far as the East is from the West, 
So far hath He removed our transgressions from us. 


See also Ps 30°, 

In stanzas of four lines, the members often have an alternate corre- 
spondence, the first line answering to the third, and the second to the 
fourth ; as in Ps 3314; 


The Lorp looketh from heaven ; 
He beholdeth all the sons of men. 

From the place of His habitation He looketh 
Upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 


See also Ps 197°, and for an antithetic instance, 44°. 

Sometimes, again, the parallelism is of the first line with the fourth, 
the second corresponding with the third (compare the order of the 
rhymes in Tennyson’s Jn Memoriam). Thus Job 27'*47; 


Though he heap up silver as the dust, 

And prepare raiment as the clay, 

He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, 
And the innocent shall divide the silver. 


This arrangement is sometimes termed ‘ introverted parallelism.’ 
This method ofparallelism also characterizes the Prophetic Writings, © 
although with certain distinctions, not necessary here to dwell upon, 


VALUE OF PARALLELISM 561 


which lead critics and editors in general to regard them, with the 
exception of certain lyrical portions, as poetic prose. In the Revised 
Version, accordingly, they are printed as prose, although in the New 
Testament the passages cited are givenin poetical form, Compare, e. g., 
the R. V. of Jer 311° with Mt 218, and many other passages. The Anno- 
tated Paragraph Bible (R. T.S.) adopts the poetical form in both O. T. and 
N.T. In Hebrew Bibles generally, the poetical passages are printed 
as prose, being distinguished only by the accents, excepting in the 
four lyrics—the song of Miriam, Ex 15; the song of Moses, Dt 32 ; 
the ode of Deborah, Judg 5; and the elegy of David over Saul and 
Jonathan, 2 Sa 22; to which, in Dr. Ginsburg’s edition, is added the 
Book of Psalms. 


375. Value of this method.—The parallelism often 
affords important aid in Interpretation, by exhibiting the 
salient points of the passage in their true relation. It is 
especially useful where the construction is complicated or 
elliptical, or where uncommon words occur; one member 
of a sentence which is clear assisting to determine the 
-meaning of another which is ambiguous. Very greatly, 
too, does this rhythmic arrangement of the thought en- 
hance its force and beauty. 

‘The nervous simplicity and conciseness of the Hebrew muse,’ 
writes Campbell, author of the Pleasures of Hope, ‘prevent this 
parallelism from degenerating into monotony. In repeating the same 
idea in different words, she seems as if displaying a fine opal, that 
discovers fresh beauty in every new light to which it is turned. Her 
amplifications of a given thought are like the echoes of a solemn 
melody,—her repetitions of it like the landscape reflected in the 
stream ; and whilst her questions and responses give a life-like effect 
to her compositions, they remind us of the alternate voices in public’ 
devotion, to which they were manifestly adapted.’ 

It is worthy of notice that this characteristic of Hebrew 
poetry is one which is not (like rhyme and syllabic metre) 
lost in translation ; and is therefore specially valuable in 
a book destined to be published in all the languages of the 
earth. It would, indeed, be going too far to assert that 
Hebrew poetry is altogether without rhythm and cadence; 
and there are in fact some very remarkable instances of asso- 

00 


562 THE POETICAL BOOKS é 


nance ; but these are not its main features, and may be lost 
in Gratniniae with little or no injury to the effect. 


‘Suppose,’ writes Professor Binnie, ‘the poetry of the Bible had 
been metrical, what would have been the effect? One half of the 
Old Testament would have been to the Gentiles a fountain sealed. 
‘Paradise Lost,” turned into prose, is “Paradise Lost” no more. 
There are literal translations of Homer and Horace into fair English 
prose, but they convey no idea of the spirit of the Greek and Latin 
originals. Had the Prophecies of Isaiah or the Psalms of David been 
written in the classical measures or in our modern rhymes, they 
would have fared as ill at the hands of the translators. As the case 
stands, David and Isaiah may be transferred without material loss, 
into any language by any deft and scholarly pen. Not only their 
sense, but their manner and the characteristic felicities of their style, 
are reproduced not unfairly in our current English Versions.’ 


Hebrew Acrostics.—Besides the parallelism, there is 
sometimes an alphabetical arrangement of the verses; the 
initial letters of the successive lines or stanzas following 
the order of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This is 
found in Psalms 9-10, 25, 34, 37, III, 112, 119, and 145, 
often termed ‘the acrostic Psalms.’ This device was perhaps 
intended to assist the memory: it is found chiefly in poems 
consisting of detached thoughts on one subject. The 
greater part of Lamentations is composed on this plan. 


The Book of Job 


‘T call this Book, apart from all theories about it, one of the grandest 
things ever written with pen. One feels, indeed, as if it were not 
Hebrew ; such a noble universality, different from noble patriotism or 
sectarianism, reigns in it. A noble Book, all men’s Book! It is our 
first, oldest statement of the never-ending Problem—man’s destiny, 
and God’s ways with him here in this earth. And all in such free, 
flowing outlines ; grand in its sincerity, in its simplicity; in its epic 
melody, and repose of reconcilement. There is the seeing eye, the 
mildly understanding heart. So true every way; true eyesight and 
vision for all things ; material things no less than spiritual... . Such 
living likenesses were never since drawn. Sublime sorrow, sublime 


pea 


THE BOOK OF JOB Bes 


reconciliation ; oldest choral melody as of the heart of mankind; 
so soft, and great; as the summer midnight, as the world with its 
seas and stars! There is nothing written, I think, in the Bible or 
out of it, of equal literary merit.—TuHomas CartyLeE, Lectures on 
Heroes, ii. 


376. Title and Snubject.—This book takes its name 
from the patriarch whose history it records. Its antiquity, 
and the conciseness of its style, make it confessedly difficult 
of interpretation. But these difficulties seldom involve 
topics of religious importance. 

Job is mentioned in Scripture in connexion with other 
known saints (Eze 14!4° Jas 511); it may be concluded that 
he was a real person, and that the narrative is no fiction. 
This conclusion is sustained by the details given of persons 
and places, and by other internal evidence. Uz, the country 
which he inhabited, was probably in the north-east of 
Arabia Deserta. 


377. Age and Authorship.—The age in which Job 
lived is a question that has created much discussion. An- 
cient opinion fixes it as earlier than Abraham, according to 
which view it would stand between chapters 11 and 12 of 
Genesis, as a supplement to the records of the early con- 
dition of our race, given by Moses. 

On the other hand, some think they detect allusions to 
the destruction of Sodom, &c., in chs. 1534 18! 207°; and 
adduce the coincidence of many names occurring in this 
book, with those of some of Abraham’s descendants, 
through Ishmael and Esau, as indications of a somewhat 
later age. By some of these writers it is assigned to the 
period of the sojourn in Egypt. Other critics, on internal 
grounds, regard the book as the product of a later period, 
even of the post-exilic age. 

Respecting the author of the book, a similar difference 
of opinion prevails. Some have ascribed it to Job himself, 

002 


564 THE POETICAL BOOKS 


others to Elihu, others (with the Rabbins generally) to 
Moses*, Whoever was its author, its canonical authority is 
proved by its place in the Jewish Scriptures, and the re- 
cognition of the whole collection by our Lord and His 
Apostles, 


It should be borne in mind that the author of the book may con- 
ceivably have lived much later than its hero, There were many 
occasions in the history of Israel in which the lessons of the book 
would be opportune ; and a story from the past may have served the 
purpose better than any contemporary record. Whoever the unknown 
writer may have heen, and wherever he may have lived, his teachings 
are for all time; set forth as they are by the pen of a philosopher and 
poet. How far the speeches are literally reported, and how much is 
owing to the writer’s inspired genius, it is impossible to say: they 
could hardly have been uttered extempore and taken down from the 
lips of the speakers. Nothing again as to the date of the book is to be 
gathered with certainty from its language. ‘Opinions as to the date 
of Job have varied from the age of the patriarchs to that of the 
Captivity, or even later; that is to say, 800 or roco years. As the 
supporters of the several theories have uniformly appealed to critical 
and linguistic reasons, this may serve to show the vagueness and 
uncertainty of much that arrogates to itself the name of criticism ° 
(Stanley Leathes). 


378. Outline.—The book naturally divides itself into 
three parts. 

I. The Historical Introduction in prose, chs. I, 2, giving 
a narrative of sudden and severe affliction (through the 
agency of Satan, represented as appearing in the court of 
heaven, as Job’s accuser), borne with exemplary patience 
and trust in God. 

II. The Argument, or Controversy, in five scenes or 
divisions. wee 

1. The first series of discussions, comprising Job’s com- 
plaint, 3; the speech of Eliphaz, 4, 5, and Job’s answer, 


® Besides the Rabbinical view that Moses was the author may be 
quoted the opinions of those who ‘with equal arbitrariness ascribe 
it to Heman the Ezrahite, Solomon, Isaiah, Baruch, Ezra, and 
Jeremiah.’ 


THE BOOK OF JOB 565 


6, 7; of Bildad, 8,-and Job’s answer, 9, 10; of Zophar, 11, 
and Job’s answer, 12-14. 

2. The second series, comprising the speech of Eliphaz, 
15, and Job’s answer, 16, 17; of Bildad, 18, and Job's 
answer, 19; of Zophar, 20, and Job’s answer, 21. 

3. The third series, comprising the speech ef Eliphaz, 22, 
and Job’s answer, 23, 24; of Bildad, 25, and Job’s answer, 
26-31. It has been urged, with some plausibility, that 
a part of the speech attributed to Job, 27’~*, was really 
a third reply by Zophar (wrongly placed by a transcriber’s 
error). The symmetry of the speeches would thus be com- 
plete; and at the first view the sentiments are more like 
Zophar’s than Job’s. The best critics, however, hesitate to 
accept this view. (Dr. A. B. Davidson, Cambridge Bible, 
pp. xxxv-xl.) 

The question discussed thus far is, whether great suffer- 
ing be not an evidence of great guilt. Job’s friends affirm 
it, and exhort him to repent and reform. Job denies it, 
appeals to facts, and complains bitterly of his friends for 
aggravating his distress by false charges. 

4. The speech of Elihu, 32-37. 

Elihu maintains that afflictions are meant for the good 
of the sufferer, even when not, strictly speaking, the con-. 
sequence of sin; he reproves Job for justifying himself 
rather than God, and vindicates the Divine character and 
government. 

5. The close of the discussion, by the address of the 
Almighty, not condescending to explain His conduct, but 
illustrating His power and wisdom, 38-41; and Job’s re- 
sponse and penitential submission, 42'°. 

III. The conclusion in prose, 4271", giving an account of 
Job's acceptance and prosperity. 


379. The precise object of the book has given rise to 
much discussion. Mercenary selfishness was the charge 


566 THE POETICAL BOOKS 


brought against Job. In the end the charge is disproved. 
Job is assured that the Judge of all the earth will do right, 
and resolves still to trust, even to the last extremity, 
19-27, His restoration shows him not only outwardly 
prosperous, but as ‘raised to higher knowledge of God 
through his trials victoriously borne.’ 

‘If we bring the prologue and the debate into combination, we 
perceive that it was the author’s purpose to widen men’s views of 
God's providence, and to set before them a new view of suffering. 
With great skill he employs Job as his instrument to clear the ground 
of the old theories ; and he himself brings forward in their place his 
new truth, that sufferings may befall the innocent, and be not a 


chastisement for their sins, but a trial of their righteousness.’—A. B. 
Davidson. 


Not all, of course, that even Job said in these discussions, 
much less the reasonings of his friends, is to be com- 
mended. The principles advanced are often erroneous, also 
the conclusions. 

Those critics who maintain the late origin of the book regard it as 
applicable to the trials and struggles of Israel. ‘The elements of 
reality in the Patriarch’s history are common to him with Israel in 
affliction, common even to him with humanity as a whole, confined 
within the straitened limits set by its own ignorance, wounded to 
death by the mysterious sorrows of life ; tortured by the uncertainty 
whether its cry finds an entrance into God’s ear; alarmed and 
paralysed by the irreconcilable discrepancies which it discovers 
between its necessary thought of Him in His providences ; and faint 
with longing that it might come unto His place and behold Him, not 
girt with His majesty, but in human form, as one looketh upon his 
fellow.’—A. B. Davidson, Encycl. Brit. art. Jos. 

The practical lessons suggested by the book are obvious 
and important. Uncharitablefess is of the devil, 1%! 
Its origin, no less than its unloveliness, should put us on 
guard against it.... Perfect and upright men are among 
the first to confess their vileness, 11 40* 42°. Our progress 
in holiness may be measured by our humility. . . . What 
wisdom is needed to conduct controversy wisely, when even 
Job failed! ... How needful is a specific revelation, when 







THE BOOK OF JOB 567 


even good men, with an accurate knowledge of God, and of 
many principles of His government, misread the lessons 
written upon His works! To correct human misapprehen- 
sion on such questions, God had Himself to interpose. 


380. Job and other Books of the Old Testament.— The coincidences 
in expression between Job and passages in the Psalms, Proverbs, and 
Isaiah, suggest that the book was familiar in the days of the Hebrew 
monarchy. The converse supposition that Job, as a later writer, 
copied from the others, is forced and improbable. The following are 
among the instances that might be quoted :— 


Ps Job Prov Job 
8 compared with 77 2* compared with 37! 
33°& 37 4, a asiee 3 ” 9, 2815 
2y aca ” ”? 5 Ov ” “9 2828 
38? ” OF 1078 ” ” gis 
39°13 a ys 1020-21 16! eee 
88 a 16 

Ee a . 19}8 14 

942 “, oe igely Is. Job 
10318 9 awa’ 358 compared with 454 
rrr? 39 Ay ietskod 59% fs » 15% 
1978 ” Oe 59° ” 9 Do 


Compare also Jer 20'4-518 with Job 3°, Ho 101% with Job 4%, and 
Zep 1°18 with Job 215°. The phrase, Job 11167", descriptive of peaceful 
rest, is also found Lev 26*° Is 17? Mic 4* Zep 3)% Eze 34”. 


References in the New Testament. 


381.—There is in the N.T. but one explicit quotation from the 
Book of Job, 1 Cor 31° (prefaced by the formula ‘it is written’), from 
5. Compare also Phil 11° with 131% In Jas 5™ there is a refer- 
ence to the ‘ patience’ (or endurance) ‘ of Job.’ The phrase, ‘ the day of 
wrath,’ Ro 2°, although occurring first in Job, may have been quoted 
by the apostle from Zep 11°, 7 


= 


568 THE POETICAL BOOKS 


The Book of Psalms 


‘What is there necessary for man to know which the Psalms are 
not able to teach? ‘They are to beginners an easy and familiar 
introduction, a mighty augmentation of all virtue and knowledge in 
such as are entered before, a strong confirmation to the most perfect 
among others. Heroical magnanimity, exquisite justice, grave modera- 
tion, exact wisdom, repentance unfeigned, unwearied patience, the 
mysteries of God, the sufferings of Christ, the terrors of wrath, the 
comforts of grace, the works of Providence over this world, and 
the promised joys of that world which is to come; all good necessary 
to be either known, or done, or had, this one celestial fountain 
yieldeth. Let there be any grief or disaster incident into the soul 
of man, any wound or sickness named, for which there is not in this 
treasure-book a present comfortable remedy at all times ready to be 
found. Hereof it is that we covet to make the Psalms especially 
familiar unto all.’—Richarp Hooxer, Ecclesiastical Polity, Book V. 


382. The Title.—The Book of Psalms constitutes, in 
the Jewish canon, the first and most important of the Old 
Testament Hagiographa (§ 9: see Lu 24). The Hebrew 
title (tchillim) means ‘ praises’; the English, taken from the 
LXX, denotes odes adapted to musie (Wado, to strike a 
stringed instrument); an appropriate name, as most of the 
pieces were intended not only to express religious feeling, but 
to be sung devotionally in public service. In individual 
Psalms, the title generally employed is mizmér, ‘a song 
with musical accompaniment’ (57 times). The word shir, 
‘song’ or ‘ode,’ is prefixed to 45, 46; and in combination 
with migmér to 30, 48; as well as with hamma‘aloth, ‘the 
steps,’ to 120-134 (‘Songs of Degrees’). To five Psalms(17, 
86, 90, 102, 142) the word ¢éphillah, ‘ prayer, is prefixed ; and 
the same word, in the plural; is used in the postscript to 72. 


383. Arrangement.— According to tradition, the Psalms 
were collected and arranged by Ezra and his com- 
panions (B.c. 450), though with certain additions after- 
wards. In the book itself there is decisive evidence of 
its having been formed from several smaller collections. 


DIVISIONS OF THE PSALTER 563 


In the Hebrew and LXX the Psalms are divided into five 
books, a division familiar to English readers, from its 
adoption in the R. V. and in other modern editions of the 
Psalter*. The distinguished commentator Franz Delitzsch 
observes, ‘The Psalter is also a Pentateuch; the echo of 
the Books of Moses from the heart of Israel... It is the 
Five Books of the Church to Jehovah, as the Law is the 
Five Books of Jehovah to the Church.’ 


Characteristics of the Several Books. 


I. 1-41. Consists, with only four exceptions (1, 2, 10, 33) », 
of Psalms attributed by their titles to David. This book 
is distinguished by the frequent use of the name Jehovah 
(Lorp), the Covenant God. 

II. 42-72. Psalms of ‘the sons of Korah,’ 42-47, of 
‘David,’ 51-65, 68-70. Probably a compilation for the 
Tabernacle and Temple services. Here the name Elohim 
’ (God) predominates, in one Psalm (53) being altered from 
Jehovah (14). 

III. 73-89. Psalms of ‘ Asaph,’ 73-83, and ‘ Korah,’ 84- 
89, mostly supplemental to I]. The names of Deity are 
here equally employed. Only one Psalm in this book (86) 
is attributed to David. 

IV. go-106. The first attributed to Moses, two to 
David (101, 103), the restanonymous. Here Jehovah is the 
prevailing Divine name. 


* In references to the Psalms, it will be convenient to students to 
remember that in the Hebrew, the title often counts as a distinct verse; 
the following verse-numbers being therefore one in advance of our 
ordinary text; also that in the Septuagint, Psalms g and 10 are com- 
bined, so that the following Psalm-numbers are one short of those in 
our Psalters, as far as Ps 114, which is joined to 115, the two in 
the LXX being 113. Ps 116 is divided, and reckoned in the LXX 
as 114-115. The order, as we have it, is restored at 147, which is also 
divided (LXX 146, 147). 

> But 10 and 33 were each regarded as continuations of the pre- 
ceding, which are Davidie. 


ae +, 
570 THE POETICAL BOOKS 


V. 107-150. Liturgie, including the Hallelujah 
and the Songs of Degrees ; perhaps collected for the ce 
of the second Temple. Here again, Jehovah is the pre- 


dominant name. 


384. Authorship.— Among the authors mentioned in the. 
titles, David ‘the sweet Psalmist of Israel’ was, according 
to uniform Jewish tradition *, the chief; although not all 
(73) to which his name is prefixed in the Hebrew, nor the 
additional ones in the LXX (12), were written by him. 

The name of Asaph, David's chief musician, or of his 
descendants, is connected with twelve, 50, 73-83. To the 
Sons of Korah, another family of choristers, eleven more 
are attributed or inscribed: to this family, Heman, the 
Ezrahite, and grandson of Samuel, belonged (Ps 88: com- 
pare 1 Sa 8%, 1 Ch 6%): and Ethan is named as the 
author of 89, though erroneously, if he were a contempo- 
rary of David: see verses 38-44. Solomon’s name is con- 
nected with 72 and 127; but probably he is rather the 
subject than the author of the former. Moses is re 
puted to be the author of Ps go, and the following ten 
are ascribed to him by Jewish critics, but without good 
ground: see 97° and 99°. The anonymous Psalms have 
been ascribed to various authors. The LXX mentions 
Jeremiah as the author of Ps 137, and Haggai and Zechariah 
as the authors of 146, 147. 


® See 2 Mac 235, which passage preserves the Jewish tradition 
(although not of inspired authority): ‘He (Nehemiah), founding 
a library, gathered together the books about the kings and prophets, 
and the books of David, and letters of kings about sacred gifts.” 

> Psalms 33, 42, 67, 71, 91, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 104,137. To the title 
of this last, the name of Jeremiah is added; the meaning probably 
being (as we might express it) ‘a Davidic Psalm by Jeremiah.’ To 
the title of 71, after ‘David,’ the LXX has the inexplicable addition 
‘of the sons of Jonadab, and of those first carried captive.’ In the 
best MSS. of the Septuagint David's name is omitted from the headings 
of 122, 124, and 1gr. 





DIVISIONS OF THE PSALTER OWE 


385. Value of the Book.—The peculiar value of the 
Psalms is twofold. 


1. They are models of acceptable devotion. Other parts of revelation 
represent God as speaking toman, Here, man is represented as speak- 
ing to God. By this book, therefore, we test the utterances and 
feelings of our hearts. Here we have a rule by which we may know 
whether they are healthy and true, whether the fire that rises from 
within is of God’s kindling or of our own. 

2, They contain wonderful foreshadowings of our Lord’s history, 
His sufferings and glory: for His sufferings see Ps 22; for His glory, 
Ps 2, 45, 72, 110. Ps 132" foretells His connexion with David; Ps 
118”” His rejection by the Jews, Ps 68!* His ascension and the gift 
of the Spirit ; and Ps 117 the call of the Gentiles: see Ro 154. 

Nor is the Messianic character of this book restricted to such 
directly prophetical Psalms. Throughout the Psalter we find portrayed 
a personal ideal, righteous yet suffering, and through sorrow and 
trial attaining to universal dominion. Of this ideal, Jesus Christ in 
His person and work is the only complete realization. Thus in 
Psalm 8 the honour conferred by God upon humanity is described, 
‘Thou hast put all things under his feet’ ; but the apostolic comment 
is, ‘ We see not yet all things put under him ; but we see Jesus,’ &c. 
_. (Heb 2*°). David again (Ps 16) triumphs in assured hope, ‘Thou 
wilt not leave my soul in Hades, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine holy 
One to see corruption.’ ‘ Being a prophet,’ is the comment of the Apostle 
Peter, ‘he spake of the resurrection of the Christ’ (Ac 25°51), Once 
more, Psalm 4o gives a beautiful picture of perfect consecration, 
fulfilled only and completely in Him, as shown in Heb 10°", 

The Christian Church, therefore, takes the Psalms as her own 
language, or as the language of her Lord. When the writer speaks 
of his enemies, we understand him as speaking of the enemies of 
Christ and His Church*. Generally, however, the feelings of the 
writer are identical with the ordinary feelings of Christians, as when 
he describes the confidence and love which have been common to true 
believers in all ages. 


® <Tf we believe that the imprecatory passages are Divine, that they 
belong to Him in Whose hands are life and death, the load is lifted off 
and laid upon One Who is strong enough to bear the burden of their 
reproach. According to Scripture, evil, in the long course of its 
development and reproduction, concentrates itself in successive 
principles, persons, systems, nations; in Judas Iscariot, who betrayed 
his Lord; in the Jews, who rejected the flower and crown of all their 
history ; in that ordered system of error and persecutions, be it what it 
may, which is called Babylon.’—Archbishop Alexander, Bampton Lectures, 
1876, ‘The Witness of the Psalms to Christ and Christianity,’ Lect. ii. 


a 






572 THE POETICAL BOOKS 


The Psalms as National Songs.—In a purely literary 
point of view, the Psalms have been called, not inaptly, the 
national ballads of the Hebrew race. The contrast which, 
so regarded, they present to other ‘national ballads’ is 
sufficiently striking. 

All classes of writers have delighted to praise these compositions. 
Athanasius, and after him Luther, called them an epitome of the 
Bible; Basil, and after him Bishop Hall, ‘a compend of theology.” 
‘Not in their Divine arguments alone,’ says Milton, ‘ but in the very 
critical art of composition, they may be easily made to appear over 
all the kinds of lyric poesy incomparable.’ ‘In lyric flow and fire,’ 
says a more modern authority, ‘in crushing force and majesty, ... the 
poetry of the ancient Scriptures is the most superb that ever burnt 
within the breast of man’ (Sir D. K. Sandford). To the Christian, 
however, their highest praise is that they embody the holiest feelings, 
have supplied utterances to the emotions of the best men of all ages, 
and were sung by Him Who, though ‘ He spake as never man spake,’ 
chose to breathe out His soul, both in praise and in His last agony, 
in words from the Psalms. 


386. Titles of the Psalms.—All the Psalms excepting 
thirty-four have titles prefixed: by whom, or at what date, 
is unknown. Probably when the five books were suc- 
cessively compiled, the editor of each recorded the tradi- 
tional view. These prefixes are, however, not authoritative, 
although they may often be helpful. They occur either 
singly, or two or more combined in one title. The prefixes 
are of different kinds. 


: 

Prefixes of Authorship.—These have already been 
noted; see § 384. One source of ambiguity is that the 
same preposition as used in these titles may signify of, to, 
and for. Thus ‘ Of David,’ ‘Zo the Chief Musician,’ and 
‘ For the Sons of Korah,’ are all similarly expressed. The 
connexion may show which sense is intended, but this again 
is sometimes doubtful. Thus we cannot be certain whether 
to read ‘Of Solomon’ or ‘ For Solomon’ in the headings to 
Psalms 72, 127; or whether Asaph (50, 73-83) was poet or 
musician, or both (see 1 Ch 6*°~* 16' 2 Ch 29%), 


THE PSALMS OF DAVID 573 


A modern theory * that David was not the writer of any of the Psalms 
attributed to him, and that in fact the whole Psalter was post-exilic, 
‘the Hymn-book of the second Temple,’ need not here be more than 
mentioned. It has not commended itself to scholars generally ». 
The hypotheses on which it chiefly rests are unsupported, as (1) that 
the early Hebrews were not sufficiently advanced in spiritual culture 
to be capable of such expression, and (2) in particular that the 
character of David was entirely out of harmony with such exalted 
flights of devotion. 

With regard to the former point it has been well said: ‘It is now 
the fashion to speak of the Psalter as the Psalm-book of the second 
Temple in the sense, not that it is a collection of older religious 
compositions brought together by the piety of a later generation, but 
that they were composed purposely for use in public worship. Thus, 
by one stroke, the tongue of ancient Israel is struck dumb, as the 
pen is dashed from its hands; these artless lyrics are deprived of 
their spontaneousness, and a great gulf is fixed between the few 
which a niggardly criticism admits to be of early date, and the full 
- volume of devotional song which in many tones was called forth by 
the shifting situations of olden times. Of course the hypothesis of 
a low religious stage in pre-exilic times demands this, but it is an 

additional difficulty which the theory raises in the way of its own 
~ aeceptance ; for even if the Psalms are late, the influence that started 
and produced them must lie deeper than in legal ordinances and 
formal ceremonies.’—Dr. J. Robertson, Early Religion of Israel, p. 474. 
See the whole paragraph for a masterly criticism of the view which 
assigns the Psalter, with few exceptions °, to the post-exilic period. 

With regard to the second point it must suffice to remark that the 
criticism betrays great want of insight into the many-sided nature of 
that most wonderful man 4, as well as a virtual denial of his inspira- 
tion. Very probably, no doubt, some of the Psalms attributed to him 
were compositions in his style and spirit, Davidic, though not by 
David himself (122, 139, &c.); but there is nothing to deprive him 
of the character ascribed to him by the sacred historian, ‘the sweet 
Psalmist of Israel,’ 2 Sa 23). 


® Professor Cheyne, Bampton Lectures, ‘Contents of the Psalter.’ 

See Dr. Sanday, Oracles of God, Appendix I; and Professor A. F. 
Kirkpatrick, The Divine Library of the Old Testament, Note B, ‘The Date 
of the Psalter.’ 

© The only exception, according to Professor Cheyne, is Ps 18. 

4 See for a more philosophical, as well as sympathetic, estimate ot 
David's character, the lines of J. H. Newman, Lyra Apostolica. Also 
The Life of David as reflected in his Psalms, by Dr. A. Maclaren. 


‘ te 


574 THE POETICAL BOOKS 







387. Historical Circumstances.—The headings of 
Psalms often afford an interesting clue to the time and 
occasion of their composition. They are of value for the 
criticism of the Psalter. For the very difficulty of bringing 
many of these titles into agreement with the extant history 
shows that they were not invented to correspond with the 
record. 


Thus, facts and personages are mentioned in these titles as well 
known (e.g. Psalms 7, 60), plainly from some other source than the 
Biblical narrative ; thus incidentally but convincingly showing their 
independence and antiquity. Their irregularity also is an indication 
that they were earlier than the editorial collection of the Psalms into 
books. If the editors had placed the titles they would, it is reason- 
able to suppose, have followed some uniform plan*®. Another note- 
worthy fact is, that when the Septuagint version was made, probably 
in the third century 8.c., the meaning of these titles had already 
become, in many cases, hopelessly obscure. The Greek translators, 
by the renderings they give, often clearly confess their ignorance, 
while sometimes they deviate into obviously impossible explanations. 
All this proves that the superscriptions were, even in their time, the 
embodiment of a remote tradition. They are, in fact, the earliest 
testimony that we possess to the current Hebrew belief as to the 
origin and purport of the Psalms to which they are prefixed. Nor 
are there any Hebrew copies in which as a class they are omitted. 
The fair inference seems to be that the title of any given Psalm, 
unless clearly irreconcilable with its contents, may be accepted as 
presumptive evidence ”. 


388. Character and Contents.—See § 382. Besides . 
the headings there noticed, are those to 45, ‘a Song of 


* See an article in the Church Quarterly Review, January, 1879, ‘ The 
Titles of the Psalms.” Comparison is often made between these 
superscriptions and the obviously incorrect subscriptions to several 
of the Pauline Epistles. The comparison, however, fails in one 
essential point. The latter are absent from the most ancient MSS, 
of the New Testament; the former are found in every recension of 
the Hebrew Scriptures. 

> A notable instance is the rendering of the prefix, ‘To the Chief 
Musician’ or ‘the Precentor,’ by the phrase «is 7d réAos, ‘To the 
end.’ The Alexandrian translators had lost the clue to the Hebrew 


laménatséach (ny), 


HEADINGS OF THE PSALMS 575 


_ Loves’; 37 and 70, ‘to bring to remembrance’ ; to 60, ‘for 

teaching’; and to 100, ‘for thanksgiving.’ The following 
words and phrases are more special,but not always easy to 
understand. 


Degrees (‘ Ascents’), Songs of (120-134). Some refer this phrase 
to the structure of the Psalm ascending from clause to clause (Ps 121, 
De Wette, Gesenius, Delitzsch); but hardly applicable to others. 
Or it is supposed to indicate the singing of these Psalms on the 
fifteen steps to the inner court of the Temple (Jewish critics generally). 
But the most probable explanation is that they were Psalms for those 
_ going up to Jerusalem, especially on the return from captivity (Lowth, 
Hengstenberg, Ewald, Perowne, Kirkpatrick, &c.). ‘Pilgrim songs,’ 
a little Hymn-book within a Hymn-book, peculiarly sweet and 
sacred. 
Higgaion, ‘Meditation,’ Ps9'® [The word is also found in Ps 19! 
92%.] It calls the reader to solemn reflection. 

‘ Maschil, in the heading of thirteen Psalms, ‘didactic’ (Hengsten- 
berg, Tholuck), or ‘skilful’ (Gesenius, De Wette, Ewald). [See Ps 47’, 
where the word occurs and is rendered ‘ with understanding.’] 

Michtam, Ps 16 and 56-60, a word of uncertain meaning. It may 

- be ‘golden’ (as A. V. margin) = a Psalm of unusual excellence, or 
‘a mystery’ (Hengstenberg), or more probably for Michtabh, ‘a written 
poem’ or ‘inscription ’ (Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, De Wette, Delitzsch, 


&e.). 


The general heading /aménatséach, ‘to or for the Precentor,’ 
occurs fifty-five times in the headings, and inscribes the 
Psalm to the leader of the Temple choir. 


Musical Directions.—There are also specified, in many 
cases, the tune, the instrument, or an indication of the choir 
- intended. 
The following is an alphabetical list of such notes. 


1. Aijeleth hash-shachar, Ps 22, ‘the hind of the morning,’ an 
Eastern expression for the dawn. ‘There was probably a song begin- 
ning with these words, to the tune of which the Psalm was set. [So 
in English, a hymn might conceivably be written to the air of ‘ Home, 
sweet home’; these words being prefixed to the hymn—totally, of 
course, unconnected with its meaning.| But some (as Luther, Hengsten- 
berg, Tholuck) regard this prefix as a title of David or of the Messiah. 

2. Alamoth, Ps 46, ‘maidens,’ so ‘for treble voices.’ 


576 THE POETICAL BOOKS ~ a 

3. Al-tashcheth, Ps 57-59, 75. ‘ Destroy not,’ the first word of a so 
to the air of which these Psalms were adapted. [Possibly a vin 
song so beginning, Is 65°. | 

4. Gittith, Ps 8, 81, 84, from the name of Gath (‘ wine-press’), the 
city sonamed. Hence either a Gath instrument or tune, ora vintage 
melody. 

5. Jonath-elem-rechokim, Ps 56, ‘the mute dove among strangers,’ either 
the tune of a song so beginning, or with a reference to David's position 
for the time at Gath (see further in the title), 

6. Leannoth, Ps 88, ‘ for singing’ (R. V.). 

7. Mahalath, Ps 53, 88, a tune so called, or a lute, 

8, Muth-labben, Ps 9, ‘ Death of the son’; probably set to the tune of 
a song beginning with the words, or (with a slight variation in the 
words) ‘with a maiden’s voice for a son’ (boy), i.e. male trebles. 


[nio~by, ‘Upon the death of,’ might be written as one word with 


change of vowels, nindy Some Jewish authorities again under- 
stand ‘the son’ as Goliath, others as Absalom! So uncertain is the 
meaning. But see note * below, and Mr. J. W. Thirtle’s essay, where 
the title is rendered ‘ Death of the Champion.’ 

g. Neginoth, Ps 4, 6, 54, 56, 60, 61, 76, ‘stringed instruments.’ 

10. Nehiloth, Ps 5, ‘wind instruments.’ 

11. Selah, seventy-one times in Psalms, three times in Habakkuk, — 
a ‘pause’ in the music, perhaps a rest in the vocal part during an 
instrumental interlude; or (less likely) ‘ elevation’ = forte, or else 
‘Exalt Jehovah’ (Ewald, De Wette). 

12, Sheminith, Ps 6, 12, ‘the eighth’; i.e. octave = bass, or to be 
sung in parts: or perhaps an eight-stringed instrument. 

13. Shiggaion, Ps 7, ‘wandering,’ or excited song; dithyrambie or an 
elegy (Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, De Wette, Tholuck), Cf. Hab 3}, the 
word in plural form. 


®* A modern theory (see Essay on The Titles of the Psalms, by J. W. 
Thirtle, 1904) is that these musical directions, as in the Psalm of 
Habakkuk, 31°, are properly to be placed at the end of the Psalm, 
and that editors unacquainted with this law have wrongly attached 
them to the beginning of the next. Thus, the present heading of Ps 88 
down to ‘Mahalath Leannoth’ is really a postseript to 87; ‘ Alamoth,’ 
the female choir, was intended for Ps 45, rather than 46; ‘Gittith,’ 
‘vintage melody,’ should similarly be placed at the end of 7, 80 (where 
see verse 8 seq.), and 83. The heading, again, of 56, ‘the mute dove 
among strangers,’ rightly belongs, as a postscript, to 55 (see verses 6, 8). 
Similarly the heading, ‘For the Chief Musician,’ should everywhere 
be transferred to the preceding Psalm. The theory at least deserves 
consideration, 






















THE PSALMS CLASSIFIED 577 


14. Shushan, plur. Shoshannim, Ps 45, 69, ‘Lily,’ ‘lilies,’ a lovely song, 
ora lily-shaped instrument. With Lduth, Ps 60, 80, ‘lily or lilies,’ a 
‘testimony,’ perhaps the name of a tune, or signifying a beautiful 
subject of well-attested excellence (Hengstenberg). 


389. The later Psalms.—Several of the Psalms (see 
§ 391) are post-exilic, and belong to the Persian period of 
Jewish history. That some are later still, dating from the 
times of Grecian rule, and even from the Maccabzan era, has 
‘been maintained by modern critics. The question is one of 
special interest in its bearing on the date of the completion 
of the canon. It is held that certain Psalms describing 
national disaster, and especially the persecution of the faith- 
ful, depict a state of things to which there is no answering 
reality in any epoch of the history earlier than the great 
oppression under Antiochus Epiphanes. This was B.c. 
170, or about 280 years after Malachi. 


The criticism rests on internal evidence only, and is applied 
especially to Ps 44 (Calvin), 74, 77, 79, 83. Other Psalms claimed 
for the Maccabzean period may at present be disregarded ; on these 
five the theory really rests*. And, apart from any detailed examina- 
tion of the several Psalms, it may be remarked :— 

1. The descriptions of persecution, ruin, and distress may be 


® The Maccabzean Psalms, according to Reuss, are 44, 54-56, 59, 60, 62, 
64, 71, 74, 75-77, 79) 83, 86, 88-90, 94, 96-102, 115, 116, 118, 132, 138, 
140, 142-144, 148, 149. According to Gritz they are 30, 44, 74, 83, 
115-118, 144, 148-150. Professor Cheyne regards the following as 
Maccabean: 20, 21, 33, 44, 60, 61, 63, 74, 79, 83, IoI, 108, 115- 
118, 135-138, 145-147(?), 148-150. The divergences in these lists, 
especially with regard to the earlier part of the Psalter, are very 
instructive to all who would rightly estimate the methods of criticism 
which yield such results. See Cheyne’s Origin of the Psalter, pp. 455, 
456. Bishop Westcott forcibly remarks that these Psalms ‘do not 
contain the slightest trace of those internal divisions of the people 
which were the most marked features of the Maccabzan struggle. 
The dangers then were as much from within as from without, and 
party jealousies brought the Divine cause to the greater peril. It is 
incredible that a series of Maccabsean Psalms should contain no 
allusion to a system of enforced idolatry, or to a temporizing priest- 


Pp 


578 THE POETICAL BOOKS 


referred to earlier periods of the history, as to the incursions of the 
heathen nations surrounding Palestine (44, 83), and especially to 
the Egyptian and Chaldwan invasions (74, 79). A Psalm written in 
the time of an earlier trouble might be applied with new meaning to 
subsequent trials ; and sufferers under Antiochus would solace them- 
selves with words uttered by their fathers when menaced by the 
power of Sennacherib or groaning under the yoke of Shishak or 
Nebuchadnezzar. 

2. There is no independent evidence that the spirit of poetry or 
prophecy was possessed by the Church in the Maccabwan period. All 
the testimony that we have tends to show that long before that time 
the canon was closed. Especially were the earlier books of the 
Psalter completed ; and the place of a Maccabsan Psalm (as the 44th) 
in the second Book would be inexplicable. The so-called ‘Psalms of 
Solomon,’ written within the century after the Syrian oppression, 
instructively show the immeasurable difference between the inspired 
Psalter and the later productions of Jewish genius. 

3. The fact already noticed, that the superscriptions of the Psalms 
had in many cases become unintelligible when the Septuagint version 
was made®, forbids the supposition that the Psalms in question were 
composed at the same or a later period. They were by that time 
already ancient. 

4. It may be added that the Prayer and Doxology at the end of the 
fourth Book of the Psalter (Ps 106*7*%) appear to be transcribed in 
the First Book of Chronicles (16*°*), indicating that when this Book 
was written the Psalter was thus far complete. 

5. The evident quotations made from the Psalter in the Book of 
Jonah (2) lead to the inference that certain Psalms already existed in 
his time (3, 31, 42, 69, 142, &c.). 

These considerations as a whole appear conclusive against the 
Maccabean theory; and the Psalms as well as the Prophets may 
be regarded as having assumed their final form soon after the days of 
Malachi. 


390. The Psalms classified.—Various classifications of 
the Psalms have been proposed. Tholuck divides them, 
according to their matter, into songs of praise, of thanks- 
giving, of complaint, and of instruction. Others arrange 
them under hymns in honour of God; hymns of Zion, 


hood, or to a faithless multitude.” See also Professor Margoliouth’s 
Lines of Defence of the Biblical Revelation, pp. 188-210, 
* See § 387. 


: 


‘ 


THE PSALMS CLASSIFIED 579 


and the Temple ; hymns of the Messiah or King; plaintive 
and supplicatory hymns, and religious odes, as Ps 23, 91, 
119. No very accurate classification can be made, for the 
contents are often very various. The following arrange- 
ment is by the Rev. E. Bickersteth :— 


1. Didactic Psalms: on the character of good and bad men, their 
happiness and misery, 1, 5, 7, 9-12, 14, 15, 17, 24, 25, 32, 34, 36, 37; 
5°; 52, 53; 58, 73, 75) 84, 91, 92, 94, 112, I19, 121, 125, 127, 128, 133 ; 

on the excellency of the Divine Law, 19, 119; on the vanity of human 
life, 39, 49, 90; on the duty of rulers, 82, ror; on humility, 131. 

2. Psalms of Praise and Adoration: acknowledgements of God's good- 
ness and mercy, and particularly of His care of good men, 23, 34, 36, 
QI, 100, 103, 107, II7, 121, 145, 146; acknowledgements of His power, 
glory, and attributes generally, 8, 19, 24, 29, 33, 47, 50, 65, 66, 76, 77, 
93; 95-97; 99, 104, ITI, IIZ-115, 134, 139, 147, 148, 150. 

3. Psalms of Thanksgiving: for mercies to individuals, 9, 18, 22, 30, 
34, 40, 75, 103, 108, 116, 118, 138, 144; for mercies to the Israelites 
generally, 46, 48, 65, 66, 68, 76, 81, 85, 98, 105, 124, 126, 129, 135, 136, 
149. 

4. Devotional Psalms: expressive of penitence, called, emphatically, 
the Seven Penitential Psalms, 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143; expressive of 
trust under afflictions, 3, 16, 27, 31, 54, 56, 57, 61, 62, 71, 86; ex- 
pressive of extreme dejection, though not without hope, 13, 22, 60, 
77, 88, 143. Prayers in time of severe distress, 4, 5, 11, 28, 41, 55, 59. 
64, 70, Iog, 120, 140, 141, 143. Prayers when deprived of public 
worship, 42, 43, 63, 84. Prayers asking help in consideration of the 
uprightness of his cause, 7, 17, 26, 35. Prayers in time of affliction 
and persecution, 44, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 89, 94, 102, 129, 137. Prayers 
of intercession, 20, 67, 122, 132, 144. 

5. Psalms eminently prophetical, 2, 16, 22, 40, 45, 68, 69, 72, 97, IIo, 
118, mostly Messianic. 

6. Historical Psalms, 78, 105, 106. 


391. Approximate Chronological Arrangements.— 
The endeavour has been frequently made to arrange the 
Psalms chronologically, but as many of them have no 
internal indications of their age and occasions the work has 
been largely one of dubious conjecture. Dr. Townsend in 
his Arrangement assigns a date to every Psalm, and connects 
it with a passage in the Old Testament History; but a closer 

Pp2 


Le a a 
580 THE POETICAL BOOKS 4 


analysis has made his list to a large extent obsolete *, 
The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, by Four Friends, 1867, 
is a more interesting attempt in a similar direction, but too 
largely adopts the doubtful conclusions of Ewald. On the 
whole it would appear that no certainty in the matter is 
attainable ; while yet in many cases there is a high degree 
of probability. The Psalms which belong to David's life- 
time have been indicated in the note on the Books of 
Samuel, § 281. Of the later Psalms, those which bear 
the name of Solomon, with a few that seem to refer to the 
Assyrian and the Chaldean invasions, are noted under 
§ 299, 


The following additional enumeration, although in many cases con- 
fessedly uncertain, may be helpful to the student :— 

Chaldean Invasion and the Captivity, 74, 79, 80, 137, 102, 120, 1at. 

The Joyful Restoration, 85, 107, 123, 126, and perhaps 87, 92. 

Troubles after the Return, 124, 125, 129. 

Building of the Second Temple (Hallelujah), 111-118 (213-118, the 
‘Hallel>’), 

The Temple Service Restored, 134-136 (136, the ‘Great Hallel’). 

Temple-songs (Hallelujah), 146-150 (used in the daily Morning 
Service of the Synagogue). 

Psalms of Editorship. 1. Preface to Booki.119. Praises of the Divine 
Word (attributed to Eera). 

There is one Psalm in particular (45) which evidently has an 
historical reference, but all attempts have failed to assign with any 
certainty the royal marriage which it celebrates. This impossibility 
serves to accentuate its Messianic application. 


New Testament references to the Psalms. 


392. 1. The New Testament writers show their familiarity with the — 
Book of Psalms not only by direct citation, but by their frequent 
employment of its phraseology in scattered sentences and phrases. 
The following are instances :— 


* This arrangement, modified, was given in the former edition of 
this Handbook. The Book of Psalms with Notes, R. T. S., contains in its 
Introduction another proposed chronological classification. 

> Probably the Hymn which Jesus and the Disciples sang before 
going out to the Mount of Olives, Mt 26°°. 


CHRONOLOGY OF PSALTER 581 


Eph 4°° ‘Be ye angry and sin not’ is from Ps 4* (LXX), where the 
Hebrew reads ‘Stand in awe and sin not.’ In Ps 348 the phrase 
‘taste and see’ is echoed in 1 Pet 2%. So 39! ‘a bridle upon the 
mouth,’ reproduced in Jas 17°. The ‘horn of salvation,’ 18? 132'7, is 
a figure found in the song of Zacharias, Lu1®. The thought of 46+, 
‘the city of God’ reappears in many well-known New Testament 
passages. So 69° ‘the book of the living’; 78°° ‘the tabernacle of 
God with men’ ; the phrase ‘cast thy burden upon the Lord,’ 55°”, is 
found in 1 Pet 57. The phrase 107° ‘the hungry soul filled with good’ 
is reproduced in Lu 1°. ‘Every man a liar,’ 116", suggested the 


Apostle’s phrase in Ro 34 So 11818 ‘chastened, not killed’ (ep. 


2 Cor 6°); 119%? ‘the heart enlarged’ (see 2 Cor 61") ; ‘ Peace upon 
Israel,’ 125° Gal 618. The appeal ‘Have merey’ (éAéngov), as 123°, 
recurs in many New Testament passages: and the ‘new song’ in 
144° appears again in Rey 5°. Some of these parallels might be mere 
coincidence, but the number of them seems to show how the Psalter 
was the constant familiar companion of inspired men. 

2. There are also many avowed quotations, often with the formula 
‘it is written.’ Thus, the collection of passages, Ro 3!°8, setting 
forth the wickedness of mankind is mostly taken from the Psalms 
(as 141°, &e.). ‘Their line is gone out through all the earth,’ 19‘, 1s 
cited Ro ro!8 (‘sound’ for ‘line’) in reference to the diffusion of the 
Gospel. Other instances are as follows :— 


Ps 82 ‘babes and sucklings,’ Mt 211° (‘ perfected’ for ‘ ordained’). 
24! The earth and its fullness, 1 Cor 107°?*, 
32)? Transgression covered, Ro 45°. 
3412-16 Conditions of a prosperous life, 1 Pet 3!°"!, 
37!! ‘The meek shall inherit the earth,’ Mt 5°. 
4422 ‘Killed all the day long,’ Ro 8°. 
514-8 God ‘justified’ before men, Ro 3%. 
782 ‘I will open my mouth in a parable,’ Mt 13%. 
82 ‘T said, Ye are gods,’ Jn ro4. 
86°10 The worshipping nations, Rev 15*. 
89° ‘I have found David,’ &. Ac 13°. 
got A thousand years as yesterday, 2 Pet 3°. 
g114-12 Guardianship of angels, Mt 4° (misapplied by Satan). 
941 ‘The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men,’ 1 Cor 37". 
957 ‘To-day if ye will hear His voice,’ Heb 37 4°. 
1o02?°-27 Maker of the earth and heavens, Heb 12°)”, 
104* God's angels and ministers, Heb 1”. 
109 ‘ His bishopric (office) let another take,’ Ac 1°° 
112° Liberal gifts described, 2 Cor 9’. 
116° ‘T believed, therefore have I spoken,’ 2 Cor 4®. 
117! Praise from all nations (Gentiles), Ro 15". 


582 THE POETICAL BOOKS 


118° ‘The Lord is my helper,’ Heb 13°. 
11875--6 ‘ Hosanna,’ Mt 21%15, 
143” ‘Men not justified before God,’ Ro 37° Gal a¥. 
3. Several passages from the Psalms are specifically referred to 
Christ, to His Person, sufferings, and kingdom. Such passages are 
of two classes. Some Psalms containing these are distinctly Messianic 
—prophetical in the highest sense; others refer to personages and 
events of the time when they were uttered, which variously pre- 
figured Christ and His redemption, even when the inspired writers 


themselves were unconscious of their deeper meaning. See 1 Pet 
p12, 





Ps 2 Messianic Psalm: predicting the conquests and sovereignty of 
the Divine Son, repeatedly quoted in the New Testament, 
Ac 475 1353 Heb 1° 55 Rev 2727 125, in the first of these 
passages attributed by the Apostles to David. Ps 16, the 
Resurrection of the Holy One, Ac 2®7 (Peter) 13°° (Paul). 
8°57 ‘Man the lord of creation, an ideal realized only in Christ, 
Heb 2°. 
227-518 An innocent Sufferer, Mt 2755-59-48, 
22°? Testimony of the Saviour to His own work, Heb 2!!!2, 
315 Jesus commends His departing spirit to God, Lu 23**. 
35°° Hated without a cause, Jn 15°. 
40° Incarnation, obedience, and sacrifice, Heb 105-™, 
41° The Traitor amid professed friends, Jn 13%. 
45° Messianic Psalm: The Son’s eternal Throne, Heb 1°, 
68'§ His Descent and Ascension, Eph 4°. | 
69° Zeal for His Father’s House, Jn 2". | 
697!-°5 Christ and His enemies, Mt 27'448 Ro 11°4° (Mt 23°78), 
110 Messianic Psalm: attributed by Christ Himself to David, Christ 
the Conqueror, and Priestly King, Mt 225, &., Ac 2° 1 Cor 
15°5 Heb 1)8 58 7!7. 
1187-23 The Stone which the builders rejected, Mt 21%”, &c., Eph 2”. 
132" The Inheritor of David's throne, Ac 2*° 


THE WISDOM-LITERATURE 583 


THE WISDOM-LITERATURE OF THE OLD 
TESTAMENT 


393. The ‘Chokhmah.’—A section of the Hagiographa 
has in modern times been designated by the specific term 
Chokhmah (7231), and is for the most part composed in verse. 
To this part of the Old Testament the Books of Proverbs 
and Kcclesiastes® severally belong. In many important 
points they are distinguished from the prophetic literature 
of Israel. They express the philosophy of reflective minds 
rather than the express messages of Jehovah. There is no 
‘Thus saith the Lord’ in their dealing with human ex- 
perience and the problems of existence. The religion of 
the ‘ Wise Men’ is of a different character from the intense 
high-wrought devotion of the prophets : it is more practical 
—an ethical philosophy rather than an irresistible en- 
thusiasm. The Divine Spirit that prompted them made 
their own thoughts subservient to the highest purposes. 
These teachers of Israel often uttered, like the prophets, 
truths deeper than they knew, and words which awaited 
the interpretation of time. They are cosmopolitan, uni- 
versal, It has been noted that in the whole Book of 
Proverbs the word Jsrael does not once appear, and the 
name of JEHovaH is entirely absent from Ecclesiastes, 


394. Solomon and his followers.— What is known, or reasonably 
conjectured, as to the writers will appear in the Introductions to the 
several books. The name of Solomon is pre-eminent among the Wise, 
probably because he founded a school or became its chief representa- 
tive. In later times, and perhaps very gradually, they became a 
recognized class. Uninspired books, as the Wisdom of the Apocrypha 
and Ecclesiasticus, were framed upon the models of the earlier Chokhmah- 
literature. The wise man went about among the people, held 


4 Some would class with these the Book of Job. But the Book of 
Job is really unique. 


584 THE WISDOM-LITERATURE 


classes for instruction, delighted in colloquies and discussions; in 
fact, the words spoken of Wisdom in the abstract had probably a 
literal fulfilment in the habits and methods of its professors :— 


In the top of high places by the way, 
Where the paths meet, she standeth ; 
Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, 
At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud: 
‘Unto you, O men, I call; 
And my voice is to the sons of men.’ 
Pr'8*7* BeWa 


The Book of Proverbs 


395. Contents of the Book.—The Book of the Pro- 
verbs of Solomon contains more than the title indicates. 
A proverb is a short sentence, conveying some moral truth 
or practical lesson in a concise, pointed form; and some- 
times the name is applied to enigmatical propositions of 
similar moral or practical tendency. The Hebrew word bein 
mashal means not only such terse aphoristic sentences, but 
similitude, parable (Eze 17? 21° 24°), or even prophetic 
strain (Num 23° 24°~°5), In this book we have, in addi- 
tion to such sayings, many exhortations to prudence and 
virtue, with eulogies on true wisdom. These latter form 
the subject of the first nine chapters. The book takes its 
name from its principal author: other ‘ wise men,’ however, 
contributed to it, and it is not always easy to distinguish 
the several writers. The sections that are Solomon's are 
part, probably, of the 3,000 proverbs he is recorded to have 
spoken, 1 Ki 4°*, from which they are an inspired selection. 
He sought wisdom rather than any other gift, and God 
honoured his request by granting him a larger measure of 
it than was enjoyed by any of his contemporaries. To 
communicate a portion of what he had received for the 
lasting benefit of others was his aim. The proverbs from 
the 25th to the 29th chapters inclusive were collected by 
the ‘men of Hezekiah,’ among whom were probably Isaiah 
and Micah. See also 2 Ch 31". 


ae 


a 


THE BOOK OF PROVERBS 585 


Proverbial instruction is common in the early history of most 
nations, and especially in the East. This style of communication 
excites attention, exercises ingenuity, is favourable to habits of re- 
flection, and fastens truth upon the memory in a form at once 
agreeable and impressive. The elegance and force of the proverbs 
of Solomon are increased by the poetic parallelisms in which they 
are written. Nearly every sentence is antithetical or explanatory, 
and attention to corresponding clauses will often fix the reading and 
determine the sense. 


The leading aim of the writer is, as stated at the outset, 
to ‘give a young man knowledge and discretion.’ This 
book is, for practical ethics, what the Book of Psalms is 
for devotion. It has lessons for every age and condition. 
All may draw from it the most excellent counsels; and the 
man who, possessed of the sound principles of piety, shall 
form his life by the rules of this volume, cannot fail to 
attain honour and happiness. The wisest authors have 
done little more than dilate on the precepts and comment 
on the wisdom of Solomon. 


Religious basis of the whole.—Though most of his 
rules are based chiefly on considerations of prudence, strictly 
religious motives are either presupposed or expressly en- 
joined. ‘The fear of the Lord is,’ with him, ‘the beginning 
of wisdom,’ 1° 9!°. His morality is based on religion. Vice, 
moreover, is condemned, and virtue enforced, by appeals to 
the holiest motives; as the authority of God, 16°; His 
exact knowledge of men’s hearts and ways, 57! 15"; the 
rewards of righteousness, and the punishment of wicked. 
ness, by His just appointment, 19”? 231719 26'°. Practical 
wisdom, therefore, resting upon and rising out of religious 
character, is the aim of this portion of the inspired volume. 


396. Outline.—The book may be divided into five 
parts :— 

i. A connected discourse on the value and attainment of 
true wisdom, 1-9. 


586 THE WISDOM-LITERATURE 


ii. Proverbs, strictly so called, expressed in couplet form, 
with much force and simplicity, 10-22, Headed, ‘The 
Proverbs of Solomon.’ 

iii. Renewed admonitions on the study of wisdom, as in 
part i, 22'7-24. Headed (22!"), ‘ The Words of the Wise.’ 

iv. Proverbs of Solomon, selected by ‘the men of Heze- 
kiah,’ 25-29. 

v. The wise instructions of Agur, the son of Jakeh, to his 
pupils Ithiel and Ucal, and lessons taught to King Lemuel 
by his mother, 30, 31. Who these persons were is not 
known. The proverbs of ch. 30 are chiefly enigmatical, and 
ch. 31, verses 10-31, an alphabetical acrostic, gives a picture 
of female excellence adapted to that age and country. 

The descriptions of Wisdom in 17°-*8 8 and g!® apply 
emphatically to the wisdom of God, revealed and embodied 
in His Son, and to the Son Himself, as the eternal Word. 
Compare ch. 8 with Jn 1! 14!°. Pre-intimations of immor- 
tality are also given in 418 1278 148? 154, 

The nature and consequences of sin are implied in the 
very terms which describe holiness, 12°: see also 1** 16° 
21 24°; and that holiness is a Divine gift is plainly implied 
mt, 


397. Rules for applying the Proverbs.—In expound- 
ing and applying the maxims of this book there are two 
golden rules. 


1. Like other general laws, some of them have occasional exceptions. 
Not all are unlimited or universal. For example, to”, ‘The fear of 
the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be 
shortened.’ Such is often the rule: but Abel was murdered and the 
life of Cain prolonged. Jonathan and Saul—the one a very brother 
of David, the other an apostate—perish in the same battle: ‘the corn 
cut down with the weeds, though to better purpose.’ Men are less 
likely to harm us if we be followers of that which is good, and yet 
persecution, because of our goodness, is supposed, r Pet 3. In truth, 
God has to teach us a double lesson—that He certainly will punish, and 
that He will punish hereafter. The shortening of the years of the 


HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS 537 


wicked—present punishment—teaches the first: the lengthening of 
their years—the postponement of punishment—tihe second. Hence 
both the exception and the rule. 16’, ‘ When a man’s ways please the 
Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.’ So it was 
with Abraham and the Israelites, with Solomon and Jehoshaphat ; so 
it was not with David, nor with Paul. 

2. The force and significancy of these maxims will be most clearly 
seen and felt if they be studied in the light of Scripture examples. 
They are comprehensive laws, understood best when examined in 
particular cases. 


Historical Illustrations.—The following instances from 
Nicholls’ Help to the Reading of the Bible are instructive :— 


17 ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but the 
foolish despise wisdom and instruction.” (Rehoboam, 1 Ki 12!5; Eli’s 
sons, 1 Sa 2%; Athenian philosophers, Ac 1738) 

110 “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.’ (Adam, 
Gen 3°; Balaam, Num 22 ; Jehoshaphat, 1 Ki 22‘; prophet of Judah, 
rt Ki 13/1924; Micaiah’s firmness, 1 Ki 22!541,) 

15* “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them.’ (The Israelites, 
Dt 321°? Hos 13°; Tyre, Sodom, Eze 16% ; Eze 2821617.) 

3°° ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not upon 
thine own understanding : in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He 
shall direct thy paths.’ (Asa, 2 Ch 14°"; Hezekiah, 2 Ki 19%, &e. 
Abraham’s servant, Gen 24)2-2’ Ne 2* Ezr 87!-*8; David, 1 Sa 30°-*.) 

44 «Enter not into the path of the wicked.’ (Lot, Gen 131015 
David, 1 Sa 273.) 

42°19 “The path of the righteous is as the shining light.’ (Nathanael, 
Jn r1*-*1; Cornelius, Ac 10; Paul, 2 Cor 31%.) ‘The way of the wicked 
is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.’ (Ahab, 
t Ki 1817; the Jews, Eze 187° Jer 51°-*5.) 

5°" ‘His own iniquities shall take the wicked.’ (Agag, 1 Sa 15°3 ; 
Adoni-bezek, Judg 17; Haman, Est 7°; Judas, Mt 27°-®.) 

9® ‘Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee.’ (David loved 
Nathan, 1 Ki 1°7~* ; Peter loved our Lord, Jn 2117; the two disciples 
constrained their reprover to abide with them, Lu 247°-2°,) 

to? ‘Treasures of wickedness profit nothing.’ (Tyre, Eze 26'5 27 28; 
the rich man, Lu 1675.) ‘But righteousness delivereth from death.’ 
(Noah, Gen 7! with Heb 117 Dan 5°, Belshazzar contrasted with 
Daniel.) 

to’ ‘The memory of the just is blessed.’ (Elisha, 2 Ki 13%; 
Jehoiada, 2 Ch 24, &c. ; Dorcas, Ac 9°, &c. ; Mary, Mk 14°.) ‘But the 
name of the wicked shall rot.’ (Absalom, 2 Sa 18'7; Jehoiakim, Jer 
a2'*1°; Jezebel, 2 Ki 9°7; Jeroboam, son of Nebat, 2 Ki 13!*5,) 


. a 
588 THE WISDOM-LITERATURE 4 


108 ‘The wise in heart will receive commandments.’ (David, 2Sa 7; 
the nobleman, Jn 45°.) ‘But a prating fool shall fall.’ (Amaziah, 
2 Ki 14°.) 

10% ‘The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him.’ (The 
Canaanites, Jos 5; Belshazzar, Dn 5; Ahab, 1 Ki 22; Haman, 
Est 771°) ‘But the desire of the righteous shall be granted.’ 
(Hannah, 1 Sa 1 Est 4}° 85-17; Simeon, Lu 27: see also Ps 37* 
Jo 1675-24.) 

to”? ‘When the whirlwind passeth, the wicked is no more.’ (Elah, 
1 Ki 16°; Zimri, 1 Ki 16"*4°.) ‘But the righteous is an everlasting 
foundation.’ (Abraham, Gen 17!*; David, 2 Sa 7'®: see also Mt 
724-25, 

11? ‘ When pride cometh, then cometh shame.’ (Miriam, Num 12°; 
Uzziah, 2 Ch 26'*-*!; Nebuchadnezzar, Dn 4°, &.) ‘But with the 
lowly is wisdom.’ (Daniel, Dn 2°"; Joseph, Gen 411°.) 

11° ‘The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but 
the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. The righteousness of 
the upright shall deliver them: but they that deal treacherously 
shall be taken in their own mischief.’ (Haman, Est 7'° 87; Daniel’s 
accusers, Dn 64, &.; Ahithophel’s death, 2 Sa 1775, contrasted with 
David's restoration to his throne.) 

1110 ‘When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth.’ 
(Mordecai, Est 81°.) ‘When the wicked perish, there is shouting.’ 
(Athaliah, 2 Ki 11359: see Rev 19!-*.) 

11% ‘The liberal soul shall be made fat : and he that watereth shal) 
be watered also himself.’ (Abraham, Gen 13°"* ; widow of Zarephath, 
t Ki 17)", &c.; the Shunammite, 2 Ki 4.) 

12° ‘The counsels of the wicked are deceit. (Geshem, Ne 67; 
Ishmael, Jer 41}7; Daniel’s accusers to Darius, Dn 6°; Herod’s to the 
wise men, Mt 2; the Pharisees respecting the tribute money, Mt 22” ; 
the Jews laying wait for Paul, Ac 23”.) 

12!° ‘The lip of truth shall be established for ever.’ (Caleb and 
Joshua, Num 13! ; Nathan to David, 2 Sa 7!°-, with Lu 1%.) ‘But 
a lying tongue is but for a moment.’ (Gehazi, 2 Ki5; Ananias, Ac 5.) 

12% ‘ Heayiness in the heart of man maketh it stoop; but a good 
word maketh it glad.’ (Nehemiah, Ne 2'*; the woman that was 
a sinner, Lu 7°*5° ; Mary Magdalene, Jn 20!—'8 ; see also Lu 24!7—S?,) 

137 ‘There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing.’ (Haman, 
Est 5}8; church of Laodicea contrasted with the church of Smyrna, 
Rev 317 2°; Ahab, 1 Ki 214162°.) ‘There is that maketh himself poor, 
yet hath great wealth.’ (Matthew, Lu 52775; Paul, 2 Cor 6° Phil 3°.) 

13° ‘He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth 
him chasteneth him betimes.’ (Eli, 1 Sa 3; David, 1 Ki 1°°.) 

14° ‘A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not.” (Athenian 





BOOK OF ECCLESTASTES 589 


philosophers, Ac 17%; Herod, Lu 23°; the Jews looking for the 
Messiah, and yet rejecting Christ, Ac 13! Jn 97°.) ‘ But knowledge is 
easy unto him that hath understanding.’ (See Ps. 11918810 Jas 1° 
Mt 1175.) 

148 ‘The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way.’ (Job 
28°35 Dt 4° Eccl 12'5.) ‘ But the folly of fools is deceit.’ (Gehazi, 
2 Ki 5227; Daniel’s accusers, Dn 67; Ananias and Sapphira 
Ac 5!-1,) 

1482 ‘The wicked is thrust down in his evil-doing.’ (Hophni and 
Phinehas, 1 Sa 444) ‘But the righteous hath hope in his death.’ 
(Jacob, Gen 49° ; Stephen, Ac 7°; Paul, 2 Tim 4°-* ; Peter, 2 Pet, 
y14.16 318) 

15! ‘A soft answer turneth away wrath.’ (The Reubenites, Jos 
22152130; Gideon, Judg 8; Abigail, 1 Sa 257°.) ‘But a grievous 
word stirreth up anger.’ (Rehoboam, 2 Ch 10, &.; Paul and 
Barnabas, Ac 15°° ; Saul and Jonathan, 1 Sa 20°°-*4,) 


The Book of Ecclesiastes 


398. Title and Authorship.—The English name of this 
book, which is taken from the Greek version, signifies one 
who convenes or addresses an assembly, and is expressed by 
the term ‘the Preacher.’ Probably this represents the sense 
of the Hebrew title, Qoheleth, a feminine derivative from 
a word meaning ‘assembly’; or it may be rendered ‘She who 
is an assembly’ (Tyler); represented as speaking through 
the voice of one person. The person is identified as Solomon, 
but ideally, as though his spirit spoke: ‘I was king.’ The 
belief has been very general that he was the actual author, 
and that the book contains the penitent reminiscences and 
wise conclusions of his old age. The book would thus be an 
interesting addition to the history which nowhere speaks of 
Solomon as repentant. According to this view, that illus- 
trious prince, though so richly endowed with wisdom, turned 
away from God, and sought happiness in earthly and idola- 
trous practices, 1 Ki 11!~*; but in his latter years, being 
made sensible of his folly, he here records his experience ; 
the truths here given having been ‘proclaimed’ by him 


590 THE WISDOM-LITERATURE 


in public to those who crowded from all parts to his court 
to be instructed by his wisdom. 

Modern criticism, however, places the composition of the 
book at a much later period. The evidence of language 
alone seems decisive. ‘We could as easily believe,’ writes 
Dr. Ginsburg, ‘that Chaucer is the author of Rasselas 
as that Solomon wrote Qoheleth.’ ‘If the Book of Eccle- 
siastes,’ writes Delitzsch, ‘was written in the age of 
Solomon, there is no history of the Hebrew language.’ The 
indications of date and authorship drawn from the con- 
tents, in the opinion of many expositors, confirm the same 
conclusion, and point rather to the Persian age. But this 
point is open to discussion ; the main teaching and great 
moral of the book remain unaffected by the question of 
authorship. 


399. Design of the Book.—-Its intention is evidently 
to show the utter insufficiency of all earthly pursuits and 
objects, as the chief end of life, to confer solid happiness ; 
and to draw men off from apparent good to the only real 
and permanent good—the fear of God and communion 
with Him. ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’ is its first 
lesson. ‘Fear God, and keep His commandments’ is its 
last. In accomplishing this design Solomon is represented 
as giving a dramatic biography of his own life, not only 
recording, but re-enacting the successive scenes of his own 
search for happiness; reciting past experience, and in his 
fervour reproducing the various phases of his former self. 
He shows incidentally how men ought to demean them- 
selves amidst the various disappointments with which 
they will have to contend. Hence the warnings and 
counsels with which the descriptions of vanity and exhor- 
tations to make the fear of God and the performance of 
moral and religious duties the chief good abound. 


Both the vividness and the difficulty of the narrative are increased 
by the form in which it is written, The author appears to be for the 


DESIGN OF ECCLESIASTES 591 


moment what he himself describes. He seems to have (what our 
older writers call) ‘fyttes’ of study (12°-§), of luxury (2!“), of grossness 
and refinement, of conviviality and misanthropy ; fyttes of building, 
and of book-making, all ending in collapses of bitterest disappoint- 
ment. We have in succession the man of science and the man of 
pleasure becoming fatalist, materialist, epicurean, stoic ; speaking in 
each character much truth, and interposing some earnest enlightened 
interludes, the fruits of his maturer wisdom ; and at last we have the 
noblest style of man—the humble and penitent believer. 

If this fact be kept in view the meaning of several passages will be 
plain. Many conclusions indicated are the expressions of strong 
shrewd sense; others of them contain glimpses of deep spiritual 
truth (5!-° 72° 115 121-7) ; others, again, are but partially true, and 
some are absolutely false (21° 3! 9”). A strain of pessimism pervades 
the whole. Many efforts have been made, in vain, to harmonize 
this with other parts of Scripture. It is not thus that the melancholy 
sayings of Qoheleth are to be explained. Each picture is the likeness of 
a sagacious disappointed worldling, with added lights thrown in from 
a Divine source. The book isa narrative of fantastic hopes and blank 
failures, with descriptions even stronger than truth. The conclusion 
of the whole matter is, that we are to fear God and keep His com- 
mandments. That conclusion is true, as are many of the incidental 
warnings and appeals; but much of the argument is not. A com- 
parison may illustrate both the argument and the end. As the forty- 
fifth Psalm is a lesser Canticles, so we have a lesser Ecclesiastes in 
the seventy-third. 


While all agree that the main design of the book is to 
exalt religion as man’s ‘chief end,’ different views have 
been taken of the illustrations and arguments. Some 
have held that the grand lesson is the vanity of everything 
earthly apart from godliness, and with such every illustra- 
tion and every part is true. Luther, on the other hand, 
thought the lesson of the book to be—be godly, and con- 
cerning everything else, be tranquil; for life is not worth 
your care. Within certain limits both views are just. 
Apart from religion all things are vain, though not equally 
vain ; and with religion nothing can harm us, though even 
then wisdom and folly are not indifferent; nor does one 
thing happen alike to all. Some have discovered two 


592 POETIC LITERATURE 


speakers in the different parts of the book. Compare 
Tennyson’s Two Voices. 

The canonicity of Ecclesiastes is recognized by the early 
Christian writers, and though the book is not formally 
quoted by our Lord or His Apostles, there are several 
references to it in the New Testament. 


By the Jews it was not reckoned one of the poetical books, and 
indeed the whole, except 3°° 7!~!* 1117 127, is written in prose. 


The Song of Songs 


400. Authorship and canonicity.—The universal voice 
of antiquity ascribes this poem to Solomon. His songs, 
we are told, were a thousand and five, 1 Ki 4°"; and this 
is called, in Hebrew idiom, the song of songs, the best, 
that is, of them all. 

Many modern critics have questioned the tradition of 
Solomonic authorship, chiefly on two grounds (1) the later 
words and idioms which occur in the Song, and (2) some 
expressions which have seemed incongruous as uttered by 
the king (see 3°! 811-12), The unusual words in ques- 
tion, however, are regarded by some Hebraists as northern 
provincialisms: and, at any rate, whether Solomon were 
the actual writer or not, the weight of criticism, based 
upon internal evidence, assigns the work to his period 
(Ewald). Dean Farrar well enumerates points on which 
every reader can judge, such as the marked resemblance 
in thought and diction to passages in the Book of Proverbs ®, 
the acquaintance with articles of foreign commerce, the 
allusion to Pharaoh’s chariots as in Palestine (1°), the 
mention of the Tower of David as still hung with a 
thousand shields (4*), the reference to Heshbon (7*), 
which in Is 15* belongs not to Israel but to Moab; the 


® Solomon (‘Men of the Bible’ series), p. 172. 


THE SONG OF SONGS 593 


allusion to Tirzah (6*) as a lovely abode, like Jerusa- 
lem, whereas Tirzah ceased to be the northern capital 
after the reign of Omri® The cumulative force of these 
passages, with others only less significant, is decisive 
against the theory of a late origin advanced by some 
modern critics. The expressions supposed to be incon- 
sistent with Solomon’s authorship may be explained by 
the dramatic character of the composition. 

This book has always been ranked among the canonical 
writings of the Old Testament. It is not quoted, indeed, 
in the New, but it formed part of the Jewish Scriptures, 
is cited in the Talmud as canonical, was translated by 
the authors of the LXX, is included in all ancient cata- 
logues, and is attested expressly by Melito (second century), 
Origen (d. 253), Jerome (fifth century), the Jewish Talmud, 
and Theodoret of Cyprus (450 a.p.). In the Hebrew canon 
it ranks with the Hagiographa, and is one of the five 
Megilloth. It is read annually at the Feast of the Passover. 

Occasion of the poem.—On what occasion it was 
written is not certain. The imagery seems derived from 
the marriage of Solomon, either with Pharaoh’s daughter 
(1 Ki 3! 7° 974, compared with Song 1° 612), or with some 
native of Northern Palestine, espoused some years later (21), 
of noble birth (7), though inferior to her husband (1°). 


401. Personages of the poem.— Whatever the occasion 
of the poem, we find in reading it two characters who 
speak and act throughout; the one Solomon (Shelomoh, 
the peaceful), and the other Shtlammith (the Shulammite) ; 
possibly, as many interpreters have thought, a feminine 
form of the king’s name. It is now, however, generally 
held to be equivalent to Shunammite, a damsel of Shunem, 
like Abishag, 1 Ki 1°. It is even a modern conjecture 

* Compare 2° with Pr 4°; 4° and 7° with Pr 519; 411 with Pr 5° and 
2433; 5! with Pr 9°; 5° with Pr 17°; 7° with Pr 23%! (R.V. marg.) ; 
82 with Pr 2718, 

Q4q 


594 POETIC LITERATURE 


that Solomon married Abishag, as Adonijah vainly and 
fatally aspired to do (1 Ki 2°°-*), The scenery of the 
whole poem is that of the Northern Kingdom. Shunem 
was on the south-western slope of Little Hermon. There 

is also a chorus of virgins, daughters of Jerusalem, 27 3° 5°’. 
Towards the close two brothers of Shulammith appear, 
8°-°, see 1, As in ancient poems generally, there are no 
breaks to indicate change of scene or of speakers. In 
detecting these changes we are guided partly by the sense, 
but chiefly by the use in the original of feminine and : 
masculine pronouns, of the second or third person. A 
neglect of this distinction has much obscured the English : 
version. In some editions, however, as in the Annotated 
Paragraph Bible, the different scenes and characters are 
indicated. The following scheme may serve as at least 

a help to the understanding of the drama :— 

Scenes and dialogue.—Scene I. In Solomon’s Gardens. 
The damsels of Jerusalem, as chorus, celebrate the praise 
of the royal bridegroom, 17~*. The Shulammite excuses her 
rusticity, and asks where she may find the bridegroom: the 
damsels reply, 1°-*. Solomon enters, and an affectionate 
dialogue ensues (Solomon, 1°-''; Bride, 1® 4; §. 1%; 
B. 116-2! ; §. 2%; B. 23-7). f 

II. The Shulammite, alone. She describes first a happy 
visit from her beloved; and then a dream, in which he 
appears as lost and found, 2°-3°. 

III. The Royal Espousals. Inhabitants of Jerusalem 
describe the approach of the King and Bride,-3°. A 
scene of mutual endearment follows (S. 4°; B. 4°; 
S. 4718; B. 418; S, 52), 

IV. The Palace. The Shulammite narrates a dream to 
the damsel chorus, 52°. They reply, 5°. She responds, 
extolling her beloved, 51°-1% The chorus responds, 6'. 
The Bride replies, 62~°. Solomon enters, and descants upon 
her charms, 6*~°, 


THE SONG OF SONGS 595 


V. The Palace, continued. Dialogue between the damsel 
chorus and the Bride (Chorus, 61°; B. 61-12; C, and B. al- 
ternately, 61%). Damsels continue, 74°. Solomon enters 
and again expresses his delight, 7-9". The Bride invites 
her beloved to visit her childhood’s rural home, 7°>-8%, 

VI. The Shulammite’s Home. Inhabitants of the country, 
82; Solomon, 8°»; the Bride, 8%’ ; her Brothers, 8°-?; the 
Bride, 8'°-12; Solomon, 8°; the Bride, 8". 

The above arrangement presupposes what has been 
generally held, that the Shulammite is represented as 
Solomon’s Bride. 


402. Other interpretations: the Shepherd-lover.— 
A modern interpretation, however, which has found much 
favour, gives an entirely different turn to the drama. Ac- 
cording to this view, the heroine of the poem is represented 
as betrothed to a shepherd youth in Northern Palestine, 
where she is seen and wooed by Solomon, who takes her 
in his train to Jerusalem; but she proves inaccessible to 
his advances, remaining faithful to her rustic lover, to 
whom in the end she is happily united, with the sanction 
of the king. The poem thus depicts the beauty of true 
and steadfast love. The arrangement would vary from 
that given above chiefly in transferring the language of 
the Shulammite in scenes i-v to her absent shepherd-lover, 
whose memory so fills her heart that there is no room for 
the king. 

Wedding-songs.-—It should be added that some expositors 
have regarded the book not as a continued dramatic idyll, but 
as a succession of lyrics, composed to be sung at a marriage 
feast. Hence the name Canticles. Undoubtedly this inter- 
pretation gets rid of some difficulties ; but upon the whole 
it seems preferable to regard the poem as a connected 
whole, 


403. Allegorical use of the poem.—Literally, the 
Qaq2 








596 POETIC LITERATURE 


whole is a description of wedded love, one of the noblest 
of human affections. In this aspect the book gives a beauti- 
ful representation of the sentiments and manners which — 
prevailed among the Israelites on conjugal and domestic — 
life. But the poem had, no doubt, a higher aim. And so, 
from the earliest times, Jews and Christians have applied 
the whole to the history of the chosen people of God, and 
their relation to Him. In view of such allegorical inter- — 
pretation its place in the canon became unquestioned. 
These views are in accord with the fact that throughout — 
the Bible the union of Christ and His Church, or of God 
and His ancient people, is represented under the same en- 
dearing relation as that which the book discloses; see 
especially Ps 45 Is 54°-" 62° Jer 2* 3! Eze 161!" Ho 2-2" 
Mt 9! 22? 25!!! Jn 3”9 2 Cor 112 Eph 5% 7 Rey ig) 
21*-? aah, | 
Much of the language of this poem has been misunder- : 
stood by early expositors. Some have erred by adopting \ 
a fanciful method of explanation, and attempting to give 
a mystical meaning to every minute circumstance of the 
allegory. In all figurative representations there is always 
much that is mere costume; it is the general truth only 
that is to be examined and explained. The headings pre- 
fixed in the Authorized Version to the several chapters 
indicate the views of early evangelical expositors, and are 
so far interesting. For a sober and beautiful allegorical 
application the Speaker's Commentary may be consulted. j 


f 


CHAPTER XVII 


HISTORY FROM MALACHI TO JOHN 
THE BAPTIST 


Civil History 


404. The Successive Periods.—The history of the Jews 
between the close of the Old Testament annals and the 


‘Advent may be arranged in five periods.. 1. The Persian 


supremacy, as continued after the days of Nehemiah to the 
subjugation of the empire by Alexander the Great, B.c. 330. 
2. The Graco-Macepontan rule, 330-167. This period may 
again be divided into two parts, the Egyptian and the 
Syrian supremacy, divided by years of conflict between the 
two powers for the mastery of Palestine. 3. The great 
struggle under the Maccaszrs for national independence, 
167-141. 4. The rule of the Hasmonzan Prizsts, even- 
tually Priest-Kings, up to the conquest of Jerusalem by 
Pompey, 141-63. 5. Final subjection to the Romans, 
B.c. 63-B.c. 4 (Herod the Great, tributary king of Judea, © 
from B.c. 37 to B.C. 4). 


The Persian Supremacy. 


405. Duration and character of the Persian Rule.— 
For nearly a century after Nehemiah’s time Judea con- 
tinued subject to the kings of Persia®. The Persian kings 
appear to have treated the Jews with contemptuous tolera- 

® Persian Kings after Artaxerxes Longimanus. 
(Xerxes II and Sogdianus) B.c. Artaxerxes Ochus, B.C. 350. 
(Revolt under Arses), B.c. 338. 


425. 
Darius IT (Nothus), B.c. 424. Darius ITI (Codomannus), B.c. 336. 
Artaxerxes II (Mnemon),8.c. 405. (Battle of Arbela, B.c. 331.) 


> 


598 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS - 


tion; permitting them to exercise their worship without 
hindrance, and to observe their ceremonial law. 

The union of the civil government and the pontificate 
soon made the office one of high ambition to the different 
members of the family of Aaron, and gave occasion to ~ 
many violent and disgraceful contests. 

One of these contests, narrated by Josephus, is almost the only 
distinet incident recorded during the whole century. The high- 
priest Jochanan, son of Joiada (Ne 12°"), in a fit of jealous passion 
assassinated his brother Joshua in the very Temple. The Syrian 
governor, Bagoses, hastening to the scene, was about to enter the 
sacred building, but was repelled, as for an act of sacrilege, when he 
indignantly replied, ‘Surely, as a living man, I am purer than that 
corpse!’ As a penalty for the crime Bagoses imposed a tax of 
50 drachmas for every lamb offered in the Temple for seven years. 

406. Rise of Samaritan worship.—Jochanan was suc- 
ceeded in the high-priesthood by his son Jaddua, whose 
brother Manasseh, according to Josephus, married the 
daughter of Sanballat, governor of Samaria, and was induced 
by him to establish a sanctuary on Mount Gerizim in 
tivalry to the Temple of Jerusalem. See further, p. 626. 

This Sanballat, if the account be accepted, cannot have 
been the Horonite mentioned by Nehemiah ; but it is prob- 
able that there is some confusion in the account of Josephus. 
What is certain is, that the rival worship was now estab- 
lished at Samaria, and attracted a great number of priests 
and other Jews from the distracted capital of Judea. 


407. Persia and Egypt.—The period was also one of 
constant struggle of the Persian with Egyptian powers. 
Judea, lying ‘ between the anvil and the hammer,’ suffered 
much. As subjects of Persia many Jews were, from time 
to time, impressed into its army, a serious grievance to the 
worshippers of the One God. In the days of Artaxerxes III 
(Ochus) many thousands of Jews, having been implicated 
in a Phenician revolt, were deported to Babylonia and the 
shores of the Caspian. Otueis were carried into Egypt, 








tin 


PERSIAN SUPREMACY 599 


which kingdom finally submitted to Ochus in 346, and 
became a satrapy of the Persian empire, Nectanebo II, of 
the Thirtieth dynasty, being ‘ the last of the Pharaohs.’ 
Greco-Macedonian Supremacy 
408. Alexander and his successors.—Upon the over- 


‘throw of the Persian army by Alexander the Great (B.c. 333) 


Syria fell under his power; and Tyre was taken after an 
obstinate resistance. Alexander then marched into Judea 
to punish the Jews, who, out of respect for their oath to 
the King of Persia, had granted the Tyrians supplies of pro- 
visions and refused them to him. But (it is related) as he 
approached Jerusalem, and saw a solemn procession of the 
people coming to meet him, headed by the high-priest 
Jaddua and all the priests, in their robes of office, God 
turned his heart to spare and favour them. In its pictur- 
esque particulars, as described by Josephus, the incident is 
doubtful: what is certain is that, for some reason or other, 
Alexander treated the Jews with extraordinary favour. 
He continued to them the free enjoyment of their laws 
and religion ; granted them exemption from tribute during 
their sabbatical years; and when he built the city of 
Alexandria (B.c. 331) placed a great number of Jews there 
and gave them the same privileges as his Greek subjects. 


409. Egyptian Rule *.—On the division of Alexander's 
® Table of the Greco-Egyptian Kings: ‘Kings of the South,’ Dn. 11. 


Ptolemy I, surnamed Soter, ‘ De- 
liverer,’ B.c. 323. 
Ptolemy II (Philadelphus), Septua- 
gint begun, B.c. 285. 
Ptolemy III (Luergetes, 
factor’), B.c. 247. 

Ptolemy IV (Philopator) attacks 
the Temple, 8.c. 222. 

Ptolemy V (E£piphanes, ‘Illustri- 
ous’), B.C. 205. 

Ptolemy VI (Zupator), B.c, 182. 


*Bene- 


Ptolemy VII (Philometor), B.c. 181. 

Ptolemy VIII (Philopator II), B.c. 
146. 

Ptolemy IX (Physcon, Euergetes II), 
B.C. 145. 

Ptolemy X (Lathyrus), B.c. II7. 

Ptolemy XI and XII, rivals, 
Bu Ga Gee 

Ptolemy XIII (Avwleies), B.c. 80. 

Cleopatra, B.c. 51. 

Egypt made a Roman Province, 3.¢.50, 


LS © 


oert to 
600 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


empire after his death, B.c. 323, Judwa was at first subject 
to the kingdom of Syria under Antigonus, but it ultimately 
fell under the power of Ptolemy I, son of Lagus, surnamed 
‘Soter ’ or ‘ Deliverer,’ who seized Jerusalem B. ¢. 320, with- 
out a blow, on a sabbath day when the Jews were unarmed 
and resting. From that time Judwa formed, with a brief 
twelve years’ interval (zg. c. 314-302) a part of the monarchy 
of Egypt up to the time of the Syrian Antiochus the Great 
(see § 410). Ptolemy removed many of the people to Alex- 
andria, confirmed their privileges, and even advanced some 
of them to offices of authority and trust. By successive 
deportations and voluntary removals Egypt became, and 
long continued, an important seat of the Jewish popula- 
tion. The moral influence of this change will be noticed 
in a succeeding section. The part which Ptolemy II 
(Philadelphus) took in originating the Septuagint, or Greek 
translation of the Old Testament, is especially noticeable. 
See Part I, § 29. Ptolemy IV (Philopator) in one part 
of his reign appeared as a persecutor of the Jews in Alex- 
andria; having been offended, during a visit to Jerusalem, 
by his exclusion from the Temple. But his designs were 
providentially frustrated. Having shut up a large number 
of Jews in the hippodrome, and turned wild elephants upon 
them, the beasts in a panic broke away from their destined 
victims, and rushed among the spectators, inflicting many 
injuries, 

During the time of Ptolemy I the prosperity of the 
Jews was much promoted by the internal administration of 
an excellent high-priest, Simon the Just, whose character 
and administration are brilliantly recorded by the Son of 
Sirach (Ecclus 50!~*!), He was high-priest for about 
twenty years (B.c. cir. 310-290). He repaired and fortified 
Jerusalem and the Temple with strong and lofty walls, and 
made a spacious reservoir of water, ‘in compass as a sea.’ 
Ue is said’to have completed the canon of the Old Testa- 





SYRIAN RULERS 601 


ment by the addition of the Books of Ezra, Haggai, Zecha- 
riah, Nehemiah, Esther, and Malachi. The Jews also affirm 
that Simon was ‘the last of the great synagogue,’ which is 
described as having consisted of 120 individuals, among 
whom were Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah, and 
Malachi. But see § 24, p. 23. Simon died in the year 
B.C. 291. 


410. Syrian Rule *.— After the Jewish nation had been 
tributary to the kings of Egypt for about a hundred years 
(during the last sixty of which it enjoyed almost uninter- 
rupted tranquillity under the shadow of their power), it 
became subject, in the reign of Antiochus III (the Great), 
to the kings of Syria (B. c. 198), whose seat of government 
was at Antioch. They divided the land into five provinces; 
three of which were on the west side of Jordan, namely, 
Galilee, Samaria, and Judza (though the whole country 
was frequently called Judea after this time); and two on 
the eastern side, namely, Trachonitis and Perea: but the 
Jews were still allowed to be governed by their own laws, 
under the high-priest and council of the nation. 

At first the Syrian kings were well disposed to the Jews. Seleucus 


Philopator, son and successor of Antiochus the Great, even maintained 
the cost of the Temple sacrifices out of his own revenues. His mind, 


® Table of the Greco-Syrian Kings: ‘Kings of the North,’ Dun 11. 


Seleucus I (Nicator), B.c. 312. trious’), Great Persecution, B.C. 


Antiochus I (Sofer, ‘ Deliverer’), 
B.C. 280. 

Antiochus 
B.C. 260. 

Seleucus II (Callinicus, ‘ victori- 
ous’), B.C. 246. 

Seleucus III (Ceraunus, ‘thunder- 
bolt’), B.c. 225. 

Antiochus III, ‘the Great,’ B.c. 
223. 

Seleucus IV (Philopator), B.c. 187. 

Antiochus IV (Epiphanes, ‘ Illus- 


II (Theos, ‘God’), 


175. 
Antiochus V (Eupator), B.c. 164. 
Demetrius I (Soter), B.c. 162. 
Demetrius II (Nicator), B.c. 146. 
Antiochus VI (Zrypho), a child. 
Antiochus VII (Sidetes), B.c. 137. 
Demetrius II restored, B.c. 129. 
Antiochus VIII (Grypus), B.c. 125. 
Seleucus V (Epiphanes), civil con- . 
tests, B.C. 96. 
Tigranes, the Armenian, B.c. 83. 
Syria a Roman Province, B.c. 66. 





602 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS _ 


however, became poisoned by Simon, a Benjamite, ‘governor of the 
Temple,’ at whose instigation an attempt was made to seize upon the 
accumulated treasures of the sanctuary*. The royal commissioner, 
Heliodorus, was struck down in the endeavour to execute his sacri- 
legious task—it was said, by an angelic apparition, but probably by 
a more earthly defender of the sacred shrine—and for a time the work 
of plunder was frustrated. Onias III, the high-priest, as a rigorous 
and devout upholder of the Law, was an object of animosity to the now 
growing Hellenistic party in Judea, and the strife was accentuated 
by the watchful jealousy of the two kingdoms. The strife had seemed 
allayed when Antiochus made over the revenues of Cele-Syria and 
Palestine to Ptolemy, the young King of Egypt, on his marriage with 
the Syrian princess Cleopatra. But she died early (s.c. 171), and 
Antiochus IV, who had succeeded his brother Seleucus upon the 
throne, reclaimed his sister’s dowry, defeating Egypt near Pelusium, 
and became undisputed master of Palestine. ‘Epiphanes,’ 
was his surname; but the Jews of after days changed it to ‘Epi- 
manes,’ madman, as a memorial of his justly-detested name, 

Antiochus Epiphanes.—The determination of Antiochus 
from the first was to ‘ Hellenize’ every part of his domi- 
nions. Incensed by the resolute opposition which his 
plans encountered from the Jews he proceeded to depose 
the high-priest Onias III, appointing the priest’s younger 
brother, Joshua (under the Grecized name of Jason), to the 
office. The new high-priest’s first step was to procure the 
enrollment of the inhabitants of Jerusalem as citizens of 
Antioch, followed by a superfluous act of apostasy in the 
form of a contribution towards the worship of the Tyrian 
Hercules! But Jason overshot his mark, and was dis- 
possessed in less than two years by one Menahem (in Greek 
form, Menelaus), who, to make his position secure, procured 
the assassination of Onias. The partisans of Jason rallied 
to the strife, and Antiochus interfered between the rival 
claimants. Marching to Jerusalem he plundered the city 
and Temple with every circumstance of cruelty and pro- 
fanation, and slew or enslaved great numbers of the inhabi- 
tants (p.c. 170). For three years and a half they were 

* See 2 Mac 3 for the whole story, embellished by marvellous 
accompaniments. 

° 





ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES 603 


altogether deprived of their civil and religious liberties. 
The daily sacrifice was prohibited, and upon the great 
altar of burnt-offering a small altar to Jupiter Capitolinus 
was erected. On the 25th of Chisleu (December), 168, the 
desecration was consummated in the offering of a sow upon 
the great altar, and in the sprinkling of the liquor in which 
a portion of it had been boiled over the copies of the Law 
and every available part of the Temple. Such was the 
‘Abomination of Desolation,’ which became proverbial ; 
Dn g” 12" Mt 24% Mk 13". The observance of the law 
of God was forbidden under the severest penalties; every 
copy of the sacred writings which could be seized was 
burned ; and the people were required, under pain of death, 
to join in heathen worship and to eat swine’s flesh. Never 
before had the Jews been exposed to so furious a persecu- 
tion. Numerous as were the apostates, a remnant continued 
faithful: and these events were doubtless made instru- 
’ mental in calling the attention of the heathen around to 
those great principles for which many of the Jews at that 
time were willing to lay down their lives. 

411. The Maccabean uprising.—At length God raised 
up a deliverer for His people in the family of the Has- 
monzans*. Mattathias, a priest at Modin, a small town 
about fifteen miles west of Jerusalem, a man eminent 
for piety and resolution, and the father of five sons, 
encouraged the people by his example and exhortations 
‘to stand up for the Law.’ With his own hands he struck 
down an apostate Jew at the idol altar, as well as the 
Syrian officer who presided at the ceremonial. Mattathias 
then fled to the mountains and rallied around him a devoted 
band of men pledged to free the nation from the oppression 
and persecution of the Syrians, and to restore the worship 
of Jehovah. Being very old when engaged in this arduous 


* So called from Chasmon, an ancestor; priest of the order of 
Joiarib. See 1 Ch 247 Ne 12%. 


604 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


work, he did not live to see its completion; and the . 
address of the dying hero to his sons, in which he com- 
mitted to them the cause of their country and their God 
(x Mac 2*°~*), is a noble utterance of, patriotism and piety. 

On his death his third and most distinguished son, 
Judas, succeeded to the command of the army (B. c. 163), 
in which he was assisted by his four brothers, especially by 
Simon, the eldest of them, a man of remarkable prudence. 

The name by which Judas became known in history is that of 
Maccabeus, the meaning of which is obscure. The conjecture that its 
consonants are the initial letters of the Hebrew words Mi Khamo- 
Kha Batlim Iahveh, a sentence from Ex 15", ‘ Who is like unto Thee 
among the gods, O Jehovah ?’ and that these letters were inscribed 
on his standard, is now set aside for a more probable derivation from 
makkabah, ‘hammer,’ in the sense that Edward I was known as 
Scotorum Malleus, and Thomas Cromwell as the Malleus Monachorum. 

412. Reconsecration of the Temple (z.c. 164).—After 
several victories over the troops of Antiochus, Judas gained 
possession of Jerusalem and the Temple. His first care 
was to purify both from all traces of idolatry. The Temple 
was consecrated anew to the service of God, and the daily 
sacrifices were resumed. This reconsecration of the Temple 
and revival of worship (B.c. 165) was ever afterwards cele- 
brated by an annual feast for eight days, beginning the 25th 
of Chisleu, the anniversary of the day on which, three years 
before, the altar had been polluted, and was called the 
Feast of the Dedication, Jn 107. 

413. The Jews in Egypt.—Whilst the Maccabean 
princes were thus contending in Judwa for faith and free- 
dom, their brethren who had from time to time settled 
in Egypt enjoyed for the most part the protection and 
favour of the Ptolemies. The son of the high-priest, 
Onias, having escaped from the persecution to which his 
father had fallen a victim, found a home in Alexandria ; 
and, perhaps despairing of Jerusalem in those days of 
tyranny and slaughter, sought to establish a new centre 


JEWS IN EGYPT 605 


of worship in the land which had nurtured Moses and Aaron. 
The reigning Ptolemy (Philometor) gave his willing con- 
sent; a disused heathen temple furnished an appropriate 
site, and the new temple of Jehovah, modelled, on a smaller 
scale, after the Temple in Jerusalem, was consecrated at 
Leontopolis in the Egyptian Delta. Inspired prophecy was 
quoted to justify this new enterprise. The ‘City of Destruc- 
tion,’ Is 19'® (A. V.), according to another reading (R. V. 
-marg.), is the ‘City of the Sun,’ in Greek, Heliopolis, 
the ancient On (see Gen 41*-), and thus, it was urged, 
the prophet’s prediction was fulfilled. This temple and 
its services remained as a welcome refuge and sanctuary 
for the Jewish people from their oppressors in Palestine ; 
and it was not closed until about 220 years afterwards, in 
the days of Vespasian ®. 


Palestine under Maccabean Rule. 


414. The Maccabean Brothers.—Antiochus died soon 
afterwards in Persia, whither he had undertaken an ex- 
pedition. Itis affirmed by the author of 1 Maccabees that 
he died of grief, on hearing of the successes of the Jews 
(641-42) ; and in 2 Maccabees there is an embellished narra- 
tive, not only of the great persecutor’s dreadful end, but of 
his late repentance (9° 78). Such accounts are, however, to 
be taken with caution. Antiochus was succeeded by his son 
Antiochus Eupator ; and the struggle with the Maccabeans 
was carried on under different kings, with varying success, 
for more than twenty years. In the course of these 
struggles the sons of Mattathias successively passed away. 
Judas was slain in battle (April, B.c. 161), his brother Jona- 
than succeeded to the command and was eventually ordained 
to the priesthood, which had beer held, up to 159, by 
Alcimus (Eliakim), a Levite of Hellenistic tendencies. The 
dignities of ruler and priest were thus united in Jonathan’s 


® Josephus, Wars, vii. 10 § 3. 


606 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


4 


person, although it was not until nearly fifty years later 


that the royal title was formally assumed. Jonathan was 
treacherously murdered in 143, and was succeeded by his 
brother Simon, who finally threw off the yoke of Syria, 
and maintained his peaceful sway until 135, when he too 
was assassinated, one Ptolemy, his own son-in-law, com- 
mitting this crime of double baseness. The two elder sons 
of Simon being slain with him, the third, John Hyrcanus, 
succeeded and maintained his twofold character—secular 
and sacred—with much resolution and success, 


415. Hyrcanus I and his Successors.—Under Simon 
and Hyrcanus I, Juda became a free state, supported by 
regular troops, strong garrisons, and alliances with other 
powers, including even Rome, with which Judas himself 
had opened negotiations, little dreaming of the issue. The 
country began to enjoy its former prosperity and peaceful- 
ness ; and the boundaries of the state were extended in the 
direction of Syria, Pheenicia, Arabia, and Idumxa. Hyrcanus, 
among other exploits, made himself master of Samaria, 
and utterly destroyed the temple on Mount Gerizim, where 
the successors of the schismatical priest Manasseh had 
officiated for more than 300 years, 

Line of priest-kings.—The son of Hyrcanus, Aris- 
tobulus I, first expressly assumed the title ‘King of the 
Jews’; but he did not long enjoy the dignity. He was 
succeeded by his young brother, Alexander Janneus, the 
tyranny and cruelty of whose rule disgraced the Hasmonzan 
name, and left results which subsequent years of delusive 
prosperity could never efface. Dying at the age of forty- 
nine, he bequeathed the kingdom to his widow Alexandra, 
by whom the priesthood was devolved upon their elder son 
Hyrcanus II. After her death, however, the younger son, 
Aristobulus, a strong and ambitious man, dispossessed his 
brother, who at first peacefully retired. But Antipater, 
governor of Idumza, who now appeared upon the scene 


N\ 
MA 
4 


LINE OF PRIEST-KINGS 607 


with notable results, espoused the cause of Hyrcanus; and 
the case was at length referred to the Roman general 
Pompey. He pronounced in favour of the elder brother: 
Aristobulus fell back upon Jerusalem, which he vainly 
strove to defend against the Roman legions. Pompey, it is 
said, gained a great advantage by preparing his munitions 
and engines of war beneath the very walls on the Sabbath, 
when the inhabitants were precluded by their religious 
scruples from attacking him. Be this as it may, the Roman 
general took the city with great slaughter, entered the 
Temple and penetrated to the very Holy of Holies, amazed 
to find there no visible representation of Deity. Whether 
impressed by this fact, or from any other cause, he left the 
Temple treasures untouched 4, and retired, having reinstated 
Hyrcanus in a nominal sovereignty. Aristobulus and his 
son Alexander, offering fresh resistance, were taken and 
slain. 


416. Intervention of Rome.—In this stage of the 
conflict the celebrated Mark Antony appears, as a supporter 
of the cause of Hyrcanus. Later on Julius Cesar took 
part in the strife, resisting the claims of Antigonus, second 
son of Aristobulus. But the murder of Cesar, followed by 
that of Antipater (father of Herod), who for twenty years 
had been the real ruler of the country, inspired the ad- 
herents of Antigonus with a transient hope. He was 
even placed upon the throne of the priest-kings, Hyrcanus 
being foully dispossessed. Herod fled to Rome, but soon 
returned and conciliated the people by his marriage with 
Mariamne, the beautiful grand-daughter of Hyrcanus. 
Antigonus was taken, and executed like a common male- 
factor. An obscure Babylonian priest, one Ananel, was 
nominated by Herod in his stead, but Herod was com- 
pelled by popular feeling to restore the Maccabean line by 


® Josephus, Wars, i. 7 § 6. 


bat a 
608 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 






appointing Aristobulus III, the brother of his queen 
Mariamne. In the midst of the rejoicing of the Jews at 
this apparent restoration of the royal priesthood Aristobulus 
was drowned in bathing near Jericho—it was more than — 
suspected, at Herod’s instigation. So passed away the 
once famous Hasmonzan race. 


417. A brief Genealogical Table will here assist the 
reader. The names of the priest-kings are printed in small 
capital letters, and the dates given are those of death, 


The Hasmonean family of Priestly Rulers. 
Mattathias, 167. : “4 
| 


| | aby 
John, 161. Simon, 135., Judas, 161. Eleazar, 163. JoNATHAN, 143. 
| 


] / 
Judas, 135. Joun Hyrcanvs, 106, Mattathias, 135. 
| 


| 
AristopuLus I, 105. Antigonus, 105. A. Jannzus, 78 == ALEXANDRA. 


| \ 
Hyrcanvs II, 30. Artstosutus II, 49. 
/ 
Alexandra = Alexander, 49. ANTIGONUS, 37- 
| 
| 
Mariamne = Herod. Aristosutwvs IIT, 37. 


List of High-Priests under Syro-Egyptian rule. 
Jappva (in the time of Alexander Srmon II (son of Onias IT), 219. 


the Great), B.c. ¢. 335. Ontas III (son of Simon II), 198. . 
Oxtas I (son of Jaddua), 330. Josuua (Greek nameJason,bought — 
Ston, ‘ the Just’ (son of Onias I), the office), 175. . 

3Io. Ontas IV, ‘Menelaus’ (outbid — 
E1eazar (brother of Simon), 290. Jason), 172. | 
ManassEH (brother of Simon), Jacrmus or Alcimus (appointed by 

276. Antiochus Y), 163. : 


Ontas II (son of Simon), 250. | 
Interruption till 153. 

JonaTHAN (first priest of the Maccabzean line : as in the above table). : 
: 


HEROD THE GREAT 609 


V. Supremacy of Rome. 


418. Herod ‘the Great.’—The record of Roman as- 
cendancy in Judza up to the time of the Advent is the 
history of Herod’s rule. When Mark Antony was over- 
thrown by Augustus at the battle of Actium, B.c. 31, Herod 
lost no time in seeking the conqueror, who confirmed him 
in the possession of the whole Maccabean kingdom, in 
five districts: Judsea, Samaria, and Galilee, west of the 
Jordan; Perza and Idumeza on the east. His reign was 
marked by strange contrasts. On the one hand he sought 
to propitiate the Jews by the enlargement, fortification, and 
adornment of their city. On the other, he manifested a 
desire to ‘Romanize,’ as Antiochus IV long before had 
sought to ‘Hellenize’ the people. He erected an amphi- 
theatre in Jerusalem, instituted public games, and even 
gladiatorial contests, rebuilt Samaria, calling it Sebaste 
(Augusta), erecting sumptuous temples, both there and at 
Cesarea Philippi (Panias), in honour of the emperor. He 
also rebuilt Stratonice on the western coast, and gave it 
the now well-known name of Czsarea. When a famine 
broke out in Judza and Samaria (B.c. 25) Herod spared no 
cost for the alleviation of its horrors, contributing the gold 
and silver ornaments of his palaces to equip corn-laden 
vessels from Egypt. At length, to crown his exertions on 
behalf of the people, he began in the eighteenth year of his 
reign (z.c. 20) the reconstruction of the Temple on a most 
magnificent scale. ‘Forty and six years,’ it was said long 
after his death, ‘was this temple in building®,’ nor was 
it even then complete in all its details». 

With all this, the relentless ambition and jealous cruelty 
of the king have given him a place among the worst 
tyrants of all time. To clear an undisputed way to the 

2 Jn 270, 
b See the description in Josephus, Ant. xv. § 11. 
Rr 


610 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


throne he put to death the venerable Hyreanus (B.c. 31). 
Mariamne and her two sons afterwards fell victims to 
his insensate jealousy. The execution of Antipater, 
his son by another wife, he ordered from his death-bed. 
And when the end was near he directed that the elders 
of the chief Jewish cities should be shut up in the amphi- 
theatre and slain as soon as the breath was out of his body, 
‘that there might at least be some tears at his funeral !’ This 
order was wisely and happily disobeyed. It was a short 
time before his death that Jesus Curist was born at Beth- 
lehem, and the massacre of ‘the Innocents’ was but of a 
piece with the character of the jealous and passionate king. 


419. Governors of Judza.—Herod was succeeded, as 
tributary to Rome, in the government of Judea, with 
Samaria and Idumea, by his son Archelaus, who acted with 
great cruelty, and in the tenth year of his reign, upon 
a complaint being made against him by the Jews, was 
banished by Augustus to Vienne, in Gaul, where he died. 
Publius Sulpitius Quirinius (who, according to the Greek 
way of writing the name, is by Luke called Cyrenius), the 
President of Syria, was then sent to reduce to a Roman 
province the countries over which Archelaus had reigned ; 
and a governor of Judza was appointed under the title of 
‘procurator,’ subordinate to the President of Syria. During 
our Saviour’s ministry Judza and Samaria were governed 
by this Roman procurator, who had the power of life and 
death ; while Galilee was governed, under the authority of 






the Romans, by Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, — 


with the title of ‘tetrarch.’ Antipas brought ruin upon 
himself through his unhallowed alliance with Herodias, 
whom he married in the lifetime of her husband, Herod 
Philip I. At her instance he sought from Rome the formal 
title of ‘king,’ but was deposed and died in exile (Jos. Ant. 
xviii.7, § 2). : 


THE HERODIAN FAMILY 611 


The Herodian family as mentioned in the New Testament. 


Heron ‘ the Great’ (Mt 2°), son of Antipater, Idumzan by descent, 


m. Mariamne (1), m. Mariamne (2), m. Malthace m. Cleopatra. 
gr.-d. of HyrecanusII. d. of Simon, h.p. (Samaritan). 
| | | 


| | i 
Br itiats Herod PhilipI, Archelaus Herod Antipas. Herod Philip II 
m. Herodias (Mt 2%), ‘tetrarch,” ‘king,’ (Lu 31) 
(Mt 14%). m. Herodias m. Salome, d. of 
(Mt 141"). Herod Philip I. 





I | 
Herod Agrippa I (Ac 12!) Herodias (Mt 14°) 
m. Cypros. m. (1) Herod Philip I. 
(2) Herod Antipas. 


| | | 
Agrippa IT Bernice Drusilla, m. Felix 
(Ae 25}8), (Ac 25}), (Ac 2474), 
J 


a A 
Moral and Religious History 


420. Adherence to Mosaism.—During this whole 
period the Jews appear in a somewhat new light. Their 
intercourse with Gentiles in Babylon and elsewhere, and 
the severe chastisements they had undergone, checked their 
tendency to idolatry, and confirmed them in their own faith, 
as has been already shown. ‘The voice of prophecy indeéd 
was silent, but the Scriptures were systematically read in 
the synagogues, which were established in most of the 
cities of Palestine. These places of assembly and worship 
(where no sacrifices, of course, were offered) seem gradually 
to have superseded the worship in the Temple. 

The intercourse of the Jews with other nations had become during 
the same period more general. As early as the time of the Captivity 

- a colony was formed in Egypt; thus violating the Law (Dt ra), and 
weakening the ties which bound them to the holy city. Their 


earlier connexion with Egypt had been a scourge, and now it 
became a snare. From choice or necessity settlers established them- 


Rr2 ha 





ae an 


612 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


selves in Asia Minor, in Greece, in Africa, and in Italy, so that when 
our Lord appeared there was scarcely a country in the whole Roman 
empire in which a Jewish colony might not be found. It was well- 
nigh literally true that Moses had in every city those that preached 
him (Ac 15”), 

As a consequence of this intercourse the original language of 
Palestine, which had been subject, as we have seen, to various 
influences, was forgotten by many of the Jews, and Greek became as 
familiar in the towns of Juda as Aramaic. Hence, not only the 
translation of the Old Testament into Greek, but the admission by 
the Jews into their purer faith of some of the absurdities of heathen 
philosophy. Hence, also, an extensive acquaintance among the 
Gentiles with the Jewish Scriptures, and a general expectation 
throughout all the East of the coming of the Messiah, 


421. The Septuagint.—By far the most important result 


of this colonization was the translation of the Old Testa- 


ment Scriptures into Greek, An account of the Septuagint 
has been given in the former part of this work (§ 29), and it 
need only be added here that the translation was gradually 
made, from the accession of Ptolemy Philadelphus, by whom 
it was originated about B.c. 285 (a century and a half after 
Malachi). The names of the translators, the order of their 
work, and the time of its completion, are entirely unknown. 
What is certain is, that it came into general use among the 
Greek-speaking Jews, that it was introduced into Palestine, 
and that, by the time of our Lord and His Apostles, it was 
the Bible of the educated Jewish community. It was 
adopted by Philo and Josephus, and, as we have seen, 
was continually quoted by the New Testament writers. 


‘422. The Apocrypha.—It was in Alexandria, also, 
that the books termed Apocryphal were for the most part 
written. 

It may be convenient here to enumerate these books, 
in their usual order. See Part I, § 10, also the Sixth 
Article of the Church of England. 


I (or II) Esdras (Greek form for Ezra). Incidents from the Bible 
history (Josiah to Ezra), related with some deviations. A debate on 


Ce 


THE APOCRYPHA 613 


* What is greatest ?’; the court of Darius Hystaspis is introduced 
(3-4*1) ; and the commission of Zerubbabel is made the reward of 
his ability in the discussion. 

II (or IV) Esdras, chiefly a series of apocalyptic visions, assigned 
by many critics to the time of Domitian (a. p. 81-96), and partly of 
Jewish, partly of Christian origin : found only in a Latin version. 

Tobit: a fictitious narrative intended to show how a pious Jew 
living in Gentile Nineveh might yet be true to his faith, and obtain 
the privilege of angelic companionship. It was probably written in 
Hebrew, though the original is lost. An Aramaic version has been 
discovered. 

Judith, a story of the days of Nebuchadnezzar, showing how its 
heroine, like another Jael, slew her country’s foe, the Chaldean 
general, Holofernes. It was probably written in the Maccabzean 
period. 

The rest of Esther, a kind of appendix to the canonical book, with 
additional details and professedly original documents. A note in the 
LXX ascribes its authorship to one Lysimachus, ‘in the reign of 
Ptolemy and his wife Cleopatra.’ But this is indefinite, as four of the 
Ptolemies had wives of that name. The book is supposed to haye 
been written in the second century B.c. 

The Wisdom of Solomon. A Greek imitation of the earlier part of 
Proverbs. It contains some fine passages, as 3° 4°', the immortal 
life of the godly, and 7, 8, the praises of wisdom. The book is 
evidently Alexandrian, and is thought to belong to the Christian era. 

The Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, or Eccriestasticus, written 
originally in Hebrew *, and translated into Greek, as appears by the 
Preface, in the thirty-eighth year of King Euergetes. There were two 
kings of this name, but as the first reigned only for twenty-five years 
the second must be meant, Physcon, brother of Ptolemy VII, with 
whom he exercised joint power from B.c, 170, which would make the 
date of the translation B.c. 132, the original being perhaps, say, fifty 
years earlier, or about B.c. 180. The book is the choicest monument 
we have of uncanonical Jewish literature. Some parts of it are 
nobly written, as the Praise of Creation, 42!°-43°°, and the Eulogy of 
Famous Men, 44-5071. The book was first termed ‘ Ecclesiasticus’ by 
Cyprian, in the third century a.p. 

Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah: a feeble imitation of Old 
Testament literature and of the great prophet’s language. It purports 
to haye been written from Babylon, in the fifth year after the 
destruction of Jerusalem. Its date is, however, quite unknown. 


* A portion of the original was discovered in 1896, and was printed 
at the Oxford University Press, under the editorship of A. E, Cowley 
and A. Neubauer, 1897. 






4 


614 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAME 


The Song of the Three Holy Children, placed in the LXX after 
Dan 3%. This Psalm, purporting to have been uttered in the furnace 
by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is familiar, from the use of the 
greater part of it (verses 28-68) as the Benedicile. 


The History of Susanna. 


Bel and the Dragon. 

These two narratives are likewise supplementary to the Book of 
Daniel. The engrafting of such legends on this book suggests that it 
had long been known and recognized as canonical in the Jewish 
church. 


The Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah, a compilation, of unknown 
date, from penitential passages of Scripture. See 2 Ch 332%, It is 
not in the LXX. 


I Maccabees. An accurate and valuable history of Jewish affairs 
from the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes, B.c. 175, to the death of 
Simon the Maccabee (135), It was written in Hebrew or Aramaic: 
but the original is lost. It is useful as giving the dates of the Seleucid 
era, from B.c. 312. See Part I, §201. The author is unknown, but as 
he mentions the achievements of John (Hyrcanus), 16*°-*4, it was 
probably written about the time of that ruler’s death (105). 


II Maccabees. The abridgement, in part, of a longer History, 
written by one Jason of Cyrene in five books (2*5). The book covers 
fifteen years of the period chronicled in the First Book (B.c. 175-160). 
The two histories are, however, quite independent. There is in this 
book a long discursive Preface (1, 2), which contains some strange 
legends, notably that of the concealment of the ark in a cavern 
until the time of the Return, 2‘-*. The history itself is rhetorical 
and diffuse, but may be usefully compared, in places, with the First 
Book. . 

It should be added that for the adequate study of the English 
‘ Apocrypha’ the use of the Revised Version is essential. Commentaries 
on these books are not numerous, but that in the Speaker's Commentary, 
2 vols., is copious and useful. 

The eighteen so-called Psalms of Solomon, not included in the | 
‘Apocrypha,’ are Palestinian, and refer to some period of national 
disaster ; either to the aggressions of Antiochus Epiphanes, as 
formerly supposed, or, more probably, to the invasion of Pompey, 
about B.c. 63. The difference in tone and style between these and 
the inspired Psalms of the Old Testament is very marked ; and for 
this reason among others the ‘ Psalms of Solomon’ are deserving of 
careful study *. 





* See the edition by Ryle and James, Cambridge, 1891. 


O_O EE 


THE PHARISEES 615 


423. Jewish Sects.—Towards the close of this period 
there arose a variety of Szcrs, of which the principal were 
the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes: the last, although 
not mentioned by name in the New Testament, had a 
recognized power in the religious life of the times. 

The Pharisees were the spiritual successors of the 
Hasideans, or Chasidim, ‘mighty men of Israel, every 
one that offered himself willingly for the Law.’ 1 Mac 2 
'R.V. They were most anxious to keep the nation true 
to its traditions of the past. But when Jonathan, the son 
of Mattathias, began to carry on the struggle no longer for 
the cause of God but for his own interest, and Simon was 
chosen by the people high-priest, the Scribes and the 
Hasideans withdrew themselves from the party of the 
Maccabees. ‘There can be no doubt,’ says Wellhausen, 
‘that from the legal point they were perfectly right in 
contenting themselves as they did with the attainment 
of religious liberty. The Hasmoneans had no hereditary 
right to the high-priesthood, and their politics, which 
aimed at, the establishment of a national monarchy, were 
contrary to the whole spirit and essence of the second 
theocracy.” It was deep attachment to the ancient Mosaic 
constitution that led to the open rupture between John 
Hyrcanus, grandson of Mattathias, and the Pharisees, At 
a state banquet one of their number told Hyrcanus that he 
ought to resign the high-priesthood and confine himself 
to the civil government of the people. 

Meaning of the Name.—The name Pharisees, or 
‘Separatists,’ was given to them, probably by their enemies, 
to mark the exclusiveness of their attitude towards the 
common people, the ‘people of the land.’ Separateness 
was in truth essential to the Pharisaic ideal of the religious 
life. The Law as expounded by the Scribes was so 
elaborate, that to keep it perfectly was beyond the power 
of the average Jew. The Pharisees were the men who 


1 
a iy 
*. Ww 


616 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


gathered round the Scribes, accepted their teaching, and 
made it the chief business of their lives to reduce it to 
practice. ‘It was,’ says Dean Stanley, ‘a matter both 
of principle and policy to multiply the external signs by 
which they were distinguished from the Gentile world or 
from those of their own countrymen who approached — 
towards it. Tassels on their dress; scrolls and small 
leather boxes fastened on forehead, head, and neck, inscribed 
with texts of the Law; long prayers offered as they stood 
in public places; rigorous abstinence; constant immer- 
sions—these were the sacramental badges by which they 
hedged themselves round.’ Yet it must not be supposed 
that the thoughts and lives of the Pharisees were wholly de- 
voted to external ordinances. It is ap portant to remember 
that they did much to keep alive the expectation of the 
approaching coming of the Messiah ; that they emphasized» 
if they often distorted the truth, that God would reward 
obedience to the Law, and comforted those who suffered 
in its vindication with the assurance of the recompense 
of the life eternal, while they warned the wicked of an 
eternity of retribution in the life to come. Of all the 
Jewish sects, the Pharisees, though not the most numerous, 
were the most prominent, the most popular, and the most 
truly national in spirit. Patriotism was the point from 
which they started ; the restoration of the Divine rule was 
their object, but since Pharisaism did not measure men by 
the heart, but only by external performance, it was sternly 
denounced by our Lord, and amongst its exponents were 
his bitterest enemies. 


424. The Sadducees, the great rival party of the 
Pharisees, took their name either from Zadok, the high- 
priest set up by Solomon, 1 Ki 2*, or ‘because they laid 
claim, in opposition to the mere zealots of Separatism, to be 
the true Tsaddikim, or righteous ones, who laid more stress 


THE ESSENES 617 


on the moral than the ceremonial Law.’ They denied the 
authority of tradition, and regarded with suspicion all 
revelations made later than Moses. They objected to all 
development of Divine truth, even of such truth as was 
plainly implied in the Pentateuch, so that they often mis- 
understood the very books they professed to receive. Qn 
this ground they denied the doctrines of the resurrection 

the i ‘tality of the sou]. Their denial of the 
existence of angels and spirits (Ac 23%) is hardly ex- 
plicable on any principle, except that when once men have 
become sceptical their unbelief is closely allied to credulity. 
The precepts of the Law were the only parts they regarded 
as clear, all else they thought uncertain. To the Messianic 
hope they were profoundly indifferent. The Sadducees 
were mostly persons of high position and wealth, From 
the time of John Hyrcanus, we find that they often held 
the office of high-priest. Annas and his son-in-law, Caiaphas, » 
_ who took the leading part in the trial of Jesus, were 
Sadducees; and it is illustrative of the tenets of this sect 
that they were more prominent than the Pharisees in 
the subsequent persecution of the Apostles, who ‘taught 
the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection 
_ from the dead.’ 


425. The Essenes.—The reserve of the New Testament 
writers concerning the third of the great Jewish sects of this 
period is remarkable, as some of their characteristies are 
closely allied to those of the teaching of John the Baptist 
and even of Christ Himself. Essrnism was_a reaction from 
the mechanical forms into which Pharisaism was stiffening. 
Its followers took no part in public affairs, and passed their 
lives in retired and lonely places, where, in the pursuits of 
agriculture, by ascetic habits, by celibacy, ablution, and 
prayers, they sought to realize their ideal of Levitical purity. 
Excepting a solemn oath of initiation into their order 


ta 





618 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


the Essenes abstained from oaths, disdained riches, and 
manifested the greatest abhorrence of war and slavery. Yet 
while jealous for the Law, they were likewise its transgressors 
in the rejection of animal sacrifices and in their adoration 
of the sun. In matters of belief they held the Scriptures 
in the highest reverence, interpreting them, however, by 
an allegorical system of their own; they believed also in 
the immortality of the soul, but did not hold the doctrine 
of the resurrection of the body 


Later than the time of our Lord these sects were known by different 
names. The Pharisees were called successively Rabbinists (disciples, 
that is, of the rabbis, or great teachers), Cabalists (i.e. traditionists), 
and Talmudists. Those who held the doctrine of the Sadducees on 
the supremacy of the literal text of the Pentateuch, though not hold- 
ing their other errors, were called Karaites, or Scripturists. The 
Essenes also are known in history as Therapeute (i. e. soul-physicians), 
though some think that this name was given to a distinct but similar 
sect. For fuller information on the subject of this section, see the 
chapters on Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes in Schiirer’s Jewish People 
in the Time of Christ, Part II, vol. ii; and that on the Religious Commu- 
nities in the Holy Land in Keim’s Jesu von Nazara, vol. i. On the 
Essenes especially, see Bishop Lightfoot’s dissertation in his Com- 
mentary on Colossians, and the Lectures of Dr. H. R. Reynolds on John 
the Baptist. 


It is instructive to observe that while the Pharisees 
used tradition for the discovery of truth the Sadducees 
used rationalistic logic for the same purpose, as did the 
schoolmen in later times; and that these sects owed their 
origin to the tendencies of human nature and the decay of 
spiritual religion. The great question between them, more- 
over, was on the extent and authority of tradition. The 
Sadducee, though willing to compare it with so much of 
Seripture as he believed, denied its authority. The 
Pharisee zpocived. it, as Divine. 


* An Essay by De Quincey, in which that brilliant writer argues 
that ‘the Essenes’ were really the early Christians, misunderstood 
by the narrators of the period, has failed to command general assent. 


THE MASSORA 619 


426. Tradition: the Talmud.—The body of tradition 
referred to in these disputes was collected in the second 
century A.D., or later, by Jewish doctors, and especially by 
R. Judah the Holy, a descendant of Gamaliel (J. Lightfoot), 
and a favourite of one of the Antonines. 


The collection is called Mishna, or the repetition*. Later doctors 
added to its various comments under the name of Gemara (the com- 
pletion), and the two works—Mishna and Gemara—are together 
called the Tatmup, from a Hebrew word signifying to teach. The 
Mishna, with the comments collected by Palestinian rabbis, living 
chiefly in Galilee, from the end of the second till about the middle of 
the fifth century a.p., has the name of the Jerusalem Talmud. The 
comments of the Babylonian Talmud embody the discussions of hundreds 
of doctors living in various places in Babylonia from about 190 to 
nearly the end of the sixth century. The Mishna, or text, is the 
same in each. Of the comparative value and characteristics of the 
two Talmuds, Dr. Schiller-Szinessy observes that whilst the discus- 
sions in the Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud are simple, brief, and 
to the point, those in the Babylonian Talmud are subtle, long-winded, 
and, though always logical, are sometimes far-fetched. The Pales- 
- tinian Talmud, besides containing legal and religious discussions, is 
a storehouse of history, geography, and archeology, whilst the Baby- 
lonian Talmud, taking into consideration that it is treble the size of 
its fellow Talmud, contains less of these. On the other hand it 
bestows more care upon the legal and religious points, and being the 
later is more studied, and is also more trustworthy. To the orthodox 
Jew the Talmud is law, philosophy, literature, and doctrine. To the 
student of Hebrew literature it is at once an inspiration and a 
despair. 


427. The Massora.—In the Talmud are found many 
critical and grammatical comments on the text of Scripture. 
These comments, with others which tradition had handed 
down, were brought together into one book under the title 
of Massora (or tradition). When these Massoretic comments 
originated is not known. 


The great Rabbinical scholar, David Kimchi of Narbonne (ce. 1200), 
whose writings were the chief fountain of knowledge for the Christian 
Hebraists of the sixteenth century, and whose influence may be 


2 deuTepwais. 






“a 


620 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


traced on every page of our English Bible, thinks that they commenced ~ 


with the revision of MSS. of Scripture effected by Ezra; others, among 
them the celebrated Ibn Ezra of Toledo (1092-1167), the Rabbi Ben Lzra 
of Browning's great poem, a man of great originality and freedom of 
view, think that they had their origin in the great seat of Jewish learn- 
ing at Tiberias, between the third and sixth centuries after Christ. 
Other scholars think it demonstrable that they are not the production 
of any one age, but were written at long intervals, and some of them 
in comparatively modern times. The first printed edition of the 
Massoretic text was published in the Great Rabbinical Bible, edited 
and issued by Bomberg at Venice (1518-36). The notes are printed 
by the side of the text and at the end of each book. Extracts from 
them are found in nearly all editions of the Hebrew Scriptures. 
Dr. Ginsburg’s folio work, The Massorah, compiled from MSS, Alphabetically 
and Lexically Arranged, is the great modern authority on the subject. 


To the Massorites we owe the points, accents, and most 
of the corrections of the printed text, together with a large 
mass of curious, though unimportant information, on the 
words and letters of Scripture. Some of their corrections 
are critical: they suggest the right division of words, 
Ps 55!° 123*; the transposition, alteration, and omission 
of consonants, 1 Ki 7* Eze 25’ Am 8°; grammatical or 
orthographical, as in various passages of the Pentateuch 
and Ez 27°; and euphemistic or explanatory, 1 Sa 5° 6* 
Dt 2827 2 Ki 18%" Is 36'% These corrections are made 
chiefly in the margin ®*. 

The Massorites notice seven passages in which words are read (g@ri) 
in the Hebrew which are not written (kethibh), 2 Sa 8° 1675; five where 


words are written but not read, 2 Ki 5%, &e. 
They made it their business also to count the words and letters of 


each book, as well as unusual constructions and forms, and to mark — 


many facts of no importance, except that the care thus exercised in 
accumulating them tended to guard the purity of the sacred text, 
They note, for example, that the middle /eter of the Law is in Lev r1**; 
the middle words in Lev 10; the middle verse, Levy 13%. Of the 


* An example may be given from the Book of Ruth, where at the 
close we read, ‘The number of verses in the Book of Ruth is eighty 
and five; and its symbol is 72 (in 4'; p = 80, 7 = 5); andits middle is 
(two words quoted from 2*),’ 


THE MASSORA 621 


Psalms, the middle letter is in 804, and the middle verse, 78°°. They 
also state how‘often each letter occurs in each book and in all the 
Bible. 


428. The term Kabbalah primarily denotes reception, 
and those doctrines received by tradition. In the older 
Jewish literature the name is applied to all the traditions 
which the Jews profess to have received from their fathers, 


with the exception of the Pentateuch, thus including the 


Prophets and Hagiographa, as well as the oral tradition. 
Ultimately, in a more restricted sense, it is applied to a 
species of theosophy, made up of mystical interpretations and 
metaphysical speculations concerning the Deity, the Divine 
emanations or Sephiroth, the cosmogony, the creation of 
angels and man, their destiny, and the import of the re- 
vealed Law said to have been handed down by a secret 
tradition from the earliest age. 


Books of Reference.__Emanuel Deutsch’s famous, brilliant, but 
one-sided article, What is the Talmud? first contributed to the Quarterly 
Review, and republished in his Literary Remains, should be read. 
Professor W. H. Bennett, in his Mishna as Illustrating the Gospels, takes 
up special subjects, e.g. the Pharisees, the Sabbath, the status of 
women, &c., and exhibits the Gospel and the Mishnaic treatment 
of each topic. A number of illustrative extracts that give some idea 
of the nature and scope of the Talmud, translated by H. Polano, are in 
a volume of the Chandos Classics series. 


429. The Scribes.—These constituted a learned pro- 
fession and not a religious sect. As an organized body, 
known as the Sopherim, whose duty it was to copy and 
explain the Law, they had their origin in the time 
of Ezra. ‘The one aim,’ says Professor Plumptre, ‘ of 
those early Scribes was to promote reverence for the Law, 
to make it the groundwork of the people’s life. They 
would write nothing of their own, lest less worthy words 
should be raised to a level with those of the oracles of God.’ 
Their successors in our Lord’s time were usually cailed 


’ * ee 


622 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 





Tanaim, that is ‘lawyers’ and ‘teachers of the law®’; they — 
were addressed, according to rank, by the titles Rab, Rabbi, 
Rabban, the last being the highest. Slavish dependence 
on precedent and authority was the characteristic of their 
teaching ; hence the marked contrast between their teaching 
and that of our Lord. While they repeated the traditions 
of the elders, ‘ He spake as one having authority,’ and with 
the constantly recurring, ‘I say unto you.’ As religionists 
they generally favoured the Pharisees, and are therefore 
often mentioned with them (Mt 23), though all sects had 
their friends in the profession. 


430. Synagogues.—Intimately associated with the Scribes, 
as an institution for the instruction of the people in the 
Law and its application to daily life, was the Synagoaue. 
Local ‘assemblies’ for instruction in the Law and worship 
existed from early times, e. g. ‘the schools of the prophets’ 
(1 Sa ro'! 197° 2 Ki 4°), and during the Captivity meet- 
ings of the elders of Israel were not infrequent (Cf. Eze 
8' and parallel passages). After the Exile, probably from 
the time of Ezra, the systematic organization of these 
assemblies rapidly developed, and buildings set apart for 
religious services multiplied. In the synagogues the costly 
scrolls of the Scriptures written by the Scribes were 
carefully preserved in a chest or ark conspicuously facing 
the seats of the people. Stated services were held every 
Sabbath, also on the second and fifth days of the week. 
Special prominence was given in these services to the 
reading of the Law and the Prophets; prayers, exhorta- 
tions, exposition and almsgiving were also observed. As 
the knowledge of ancient Hebrew gradually died out, the 
reading of the appointed portions of Scripture had to be 
accompanied by translation into the vernacular Aramaic 

®* The three N.T. terms, ypaypareds, scribe, voutrds, lawyer, and vopuodi- 


dackaros, teacher of the Law, denote three functions of one and the same 
class, 


THE SANHEDRIN 623 


or into Greek, which seems in the time of our Lord 
to have been generally understood and spoken. Not only 
were the synagogues places of worship, they were also 
schools for teaching children to read, and likewise minor 
courts of justice in which the sentence’ was not only 
pronounced but executed (Mt 10"), The general manage- 
ment of the synagogue was under the direction of 
‘elders’ (Lu 7°), the chief members of which were ‘rulers’ 
(Lu 13% Ac 131°). The seats of the elders and rulers were 
in front of the ark and facing the congregation. The 
disciplinary powers of excommunicating and of scourging 
were in the hands of the elders, and it was they or the 
rulers who in the service called on fit persons to read, 
pray, and preach. Alms were collected by two or more 
‘collectors,’ and a ‘ minister’ (attendant, R.V.), Lu 4°, had 
charge of the sacred books, and fulfilled the general duties 
of verger or caretaker. The order of service in a synagogue 
much resembles that described in Ne 8!~‘, with which 
compare Lu 4169, 


431. The Sanhedrin.—It is hardly possible to over- 
estimate the predominant influence of the Scribes upon the 
religious life of the people in connexion with the synagogue 
worship, and to this must be added their connexion, as the 
trained doctors of the Law, with the great court of justice, 
legislative and administrative, the SannEpRIN®, The origin 
of this council may be traced to the time of Jehoshaphat 
(2 Ch 19°), some say to the seventy elders whom Moses 
was directed to associate with him in the government 
of the Israelites (Num 11117), The members were 
seventy or seventy-two in number, and consisted (1) of 
the chief priests or heads of the twenty-four priestly 
courses, (2) the scribes or lawyers, (3) the elders, i.e, 


4 The word is really Greek, ovvédpioy, ‘assembly,’ put into an Aramaic 
shape. It is sometimes written, less correctly, Sanhedrim, 


« 


624 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS | 





princes of tribes and heads of families, who were the 
representatives of the laity. The high-priest generally filled 
the office of president, besides whom there was a vice- 
president who sat on his right hand, and according to some, 
a second vice-president, who sat on his left hand. The 
other members were seated in such a way as to form a semi- 
circle. According to the Talmudists their council-chamber 
was within the precincts of the Temple, but according to 
Dr. Ginsburg their usual place of assembly was on the east 
side of Mount Zion, not far from the Temple. At the trial 
of Christ the council met in the palace of the high-priest, 
an act altogether exceptional and illegal. The authority of 
the council from time to time varied much ; at first accord- 
ing to the measure of self-government left the nation by its 
foreign lords, and afterwards according to the more or less 
aristocratic power claimed by the native sovereign. In the 
time of Christ its powers had been much limited by the 
interference of the Romans. It still retained the right of 
passing sentence of death, but the power of executing it 
rested with the Roman procurator (Jn 18°), 


432. Other Distinctions.—Closely akin to the Pharisees 
in their religious views were the Galileans, though differ- 
ing in their political tenets. They sprang from Judas of 
Galilee (Gamala), who, in ‘the days of the taxing,’ taught 
that all foreign domination was unscriptural, and that God 
was the only King of the Jews. Deeming it unlawful to 
pray for foreign princes, they performed their sacrifices 
apart. As our Lord and His disciples were from Galilee, 
the Pharisees attempted to identify Him with this sect. 

Of this party, the most violent were called Zealots. 
Simon the Canaanite (R.V. Cananean, Mt ro‘) is really 
Simon the Zealot (see 615), the surname being from the 
Hebrew gana’, to glow, be zealous, and not to be mis- 
understood as ‘man of Canaan’ or ‘of Cana,’ 


THE SANHEDRIN 625 


The Herodians were rather a political than a religious 
sect. They took their name and their views from the 
family of Herod, who derived their authority from the 
Roman government. It was their principle to promote 
intimacy with Rome by flattery and unlimited submission, 
but especially by introducing into Judeza the usages of the 
conquerors. This surrender of principle to worldly policy 
was the leaven against which our Lord cautioned His 
- disciples. 

The Proselytes were, in the time of our Lord, a very 
numerous body, although the word itself occurs only four 
times in the New Testament, Mt 23! Ac 2!° 6° 134%, The 
name was given to those Gentiles who took upon them- 
selves the obligations of the Mosaic Law. They joined in 
offering sacrifices to the God of Israel in the outer court 
of the Temple. The Pharisees took great pains to’ make 
proselytes, and were aided in their efforts by the fading 
authority of the old religions, and the reverence in which 
the God of the Jews was held by the heathen. Too often, 
however, these teachers had no true idea of their religion ; 
their converts, therefore, only changed their superstition, 
hushed the accusations of conscience, and became twofold: 
more than before ‘the children of hell’ (gehenna). These 
conyerts were called by the Jews Proselytes of Righteousness, 
and were often among the bitterest enemies of the Christian 
faith. 

There was also a large body of Gentiles called (in later 
times) Proselytes of the Gate, who simply pledged themselves 
to renounce idolatry, to worship the true God, and to 
abstain from all heathenish practices. They had generally 
heard of the coming of the Messiah, and were free from 
most of the prejudices of the Jews. Hence the new religion 
made great progress among them. In the New Testament 
these are known as ‘they that fear God’ or ‘ worshippers,’ 
‘devout.’ So Cornelius, Ac 107, Lydia, 1614, &e. 

Ss 





626 BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTA 


433. The Samaritans claimed an interest in the Mosaic 
covenant ; but our Lord distinguishes them from the: lost 
sheep of the house of Israel and from the Gentiles (Mt 10°“). 
Those of the time of our Lord sprang from the colonists 
with whom the King of Assyria peopled Samaria after the 
Ten Tribes were carried away (2 Ki 17). An account of their 
origin has already been given, § 295. 


After the restoration from Babylon, the Samaritans requested to be 
permitted to assist in rebuilding the Temple at Jerusalem, but Zerub- 
babel and his fellow leaders rejected the offer because of the mixed 
character of the faith and nationality of the Samaritans, Ezr 4'-. 
The racial and religious difference was further intensified by the 
action of Nehemiah. In contending against the evils of foreign 
marriage alliances, he was brought into conflict with the high priest 
Eliashib, whose grandson had married the daughter of Sanballat, the 
governor of Samaria, Ne 13”. The offender, Manasseh, as we learn 
from Josephus, after being banished from Jerusalem settled with 
a numerous train of followers in Samaria. They erected on Mount 
Gerizim an independent temple, which remained till the days of 
John Hyrcanus, B.c. 109, and established what they deemed a more 
orderly observance of the Mosaic Law. Their faith and practice they 
founded on the Pentateuch alone, and rejected the whole of the other 
books of the Jewish Canon. 

For an account ef the Samaritan Pentateuch see Part I, § 28. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE GOSPELS 


434. Meaning of the title.—Our word Gospel is the 
Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the Greek evayyédov, good tidings. 
If compounded of good and spell (story), it exactly represents 
the original: if, however (as Dr. Skeat thinks), it means 
God’s spell, the word embodies the fuller New Testament 
phrases ‘the gospel of God,’ ‘of Christ’ (rod @cod, rod Xpicrod), 
the source and the substance of the good tidings. In the 
Gospels the word evayyéAvov occurs only in Matthew (473 9*° 
eae oo)-and Mark (x--) 8° 10% 1310 149 16") =the 
corresponding verb evayyeA‘Couar, to preach good tidings, once 
in Matthew (11°), ten times in Luke. But throughout the 
New Testament its use is uniform. Whether simply or 
with such additions as—the gospel of God, of Christ, of the 
kingdom, of the grace of God, of His Son, of the glory of 
Christ, of our salvation, of peace, of the glory of the blessed 
God—it is the good tidings of which God is the Author, 
which Christ came to preach and of which He, in His life 
and death and resurrection, is the contents, and which 
means for men salvation and peace. 

There can, therefore, strictly speaking, be but one gospel; 
and in proportion as the relation of Jesus Christ to God’s 
message to the world was more clearly discerned, this gospel 
would tend to become identified with the story of what He 
was and taught and did and suffered. This is perhaps 
‘the significance. of the word in Mk 1! ‘the beginning of the 
gospel of Jesus Christ’: it is certainly its meaning in the 
titles which were subsequently given to the fourfold version 

SS2 


628 THE GOSPELS 





of the ‘great biography.’ ‘The Gospel according to (xard) 
Matthew’ means the gospel, i.e. the story of Jesus Christ, 
as told by Matthew. Four books each record one and the 
same gospel. But it was an easy step to the final stage in 
the application of the word, by which the books themselves 
were called ‘Gospels,’ a use which first appears in Justin 
Martyr (c. a.p. 140), who speaks of ‘the memoirs (dzo- 
pvnpovedpara) of the Apostles which are called gospels.’ 
Hence we can distinguish three stages in the usage of the 
term ciayyéAvov—(1) God’s message to the world, announced 
by and centring in Jesus Christ, (2) the narrative of the 
facts concerning Jesus Christ, (3) a written record of these 
facts. " 


435. The Four Gospels.—Since the close of the second 
century, when Ireneus argued for the necessity of four 
Gospels from the four zones of the earth and the four winds 
of heaven, the differing aspects of these pictures of our Lord 
and their unity amid diversity have been often and variously 
traced. The leading characteristics of each will be pointed 
out later. But it is obvious that at the first glance the four 
separate into three and one. The fourth Gospel stands alone. 
Its opening is not narrative, but profoundest theology. The 
writer’s purpose is not to tell the story of the earthly life of 
Jesus; it is to interpret Him as ‘the Christ, the Son of 
God’ (20*!). The discourses expound His relation to the 
Father and His mission to mankind. In place of teaching 
by parable and crisp, direct sayings, which all could under- 
stand, we find long discourses, mystical in character, and 
expounding the abstract ideas of life, light, witness, truth, 
and glory. Familiarity with the facts and persons of the 
first three Gospels is constantly assumed, and here and there 
the narratives coincide ; but for the most part the incidents 
are new, selected for the writer’s didactic purpose. Thus 
‘a threefold contrast meets us—theological interpretation, 
not bare narrative ; typical scenes, chosen for their spiritual 


THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 629 


significance, not a complete and self-contained historical 
record ; full discourses on transcendent themes, not groups 
of pregnant sayings, maxims, paradoxes?.’ 


436. The Synoptic Problem.—This difference has in 
modern times been marked by the term Synoptic applied to 
the first three Gospels in contradistinction from the fourth. 
Though they give but fragmentary records of the life they 
narrate, they show remarkable agreement in the incidents 
and sayings selected and in the general order in which 
these are presented. Set side by side they yield a synopsis 
(cvvovrs) or conspectus, i.e. the same general view or out- 
line. A harmony can be constructed in parallel columns, in 
which the triple and dual agreements are far more numerous 
than the isolated matter. The following table displays the 
facts. Let the substance of the Synoptics be divided into 
8g sections: of these there are 


Common to all three 42 
», Matthew and Mark 12 

i », Mark and Luke 5 

5 ,, Matthew and Luke 14 
Peculiar to Matthew 5 
a », Mark 2 

2 ” Luke 9 

89 


To this fact of general agreement both in matier and in order, com- 
bined with minor differences in both, is to be added the no less 
significant one of terbal agreement and difference in recording the 
same incident or discourse. Almost any section that may be selected 
will show at once the independence of three separate narrators, 

BP spcthor with verbal coincidences which compel us to infer that the 
_ three are using some common source. Details cannot here be given, 
and a single illustration must suffice. 


* 


* Dean J. Armitage Robinson, The Study of the Gospels, p. 126. ; 


630 


Mi 9?-* (R.V.). 

2 And behold, they 
brought to him a 
man sick of the 
palsy, lying on a bed: 
and Jesus seeing 
their faith said unto | 
the sick of thepalsy, 
Son,\ be of mee 
cheer; thy sins are 
forgiven. * And be- 
hold, certain of the 





THE GOSPELS 


Mk 2°-12 (R.V.). 

*And they 
bringing unto him 
a man sick of the 
palsy, borne of four- 
* And when they could 
not bring him unto 
him for the crowd, 
they uncovered the 
roof where he was: 
and when they had 
broken it up, they let 


come, |, 
bring on a bed a man- 


seribes said within | down the bed whereon 
themselves, This man | the sick of the palsy 
blasphemeth. *And|lay. ° And Jesus see- 
Jesus knowing their | ing their faith saith 
thoughtssaid, Where- | unto the sick of the 
fore think ye evil in‘ palsy, Son, thy sins 
your hearts? ®For)are forgiven. *° But 
whether is easier, | there were certain of 
to say, Thy sins are|the scribes sitting 
forgiven; or tosay,| there, and reasoning 
Arise, and walk ?| in their hearts, * Why 
* But that ye may|doth this man thus 
know that the Son|speak? he blasphe- 
of man hath power| meth: who can for- 


on earth to forgive|give sins but one, 
sins (then saith he|even God? And 
to the sick of the|straightway Jesus, 
palsy), Arise, and|perceiving in his 
take up thy bed, and|spirit that they so 
go unto thy house. | reasoned within 


7 And he arose, and| themselves, saith un- 
departed to his|to them, Why rea- 
house. * But when/son ye these things 
the multitudes saw it,}in your hearts? 
they were afraid, |° Whether is easier, 
and glorified God, | to say to the sick of 
which had given such/the palsy, Thy sins 
power unto men. are forgiven ; or to 

say, Arise, and take 

up thy bed, and walk? | 






Iu 544 (R.V.). 
18 And behold, men 


that was palsied : and 
they sought to bring 
him in, and to lay 
him before him, 7° And 
not finding by what 
way they might bring 
him in because of 
the multitude, they 
went up to the house- 
top, and let him down 
through the tiles with 
his couch into the 


midst before Jesus, © 


20 And seeing their 
faith, he said, Man, 
thy sins are for- 
given thee. “ And 
the seribes and the 
Pharisees began to 
reason, saying, Who 
is this that speaketh 
blasphemies? Who 
can forgive sins, but 
God alone? * But 
Jesus perceiving 
their reasonings, 
answered and said 
unto them, What 
reason ye in your 
hearts? °° Whether 
is easier, to say, 
Thy sins are for- 
given thee; or to 
say, Ariseand walk? 
*4 But that ye may 
know that the Son 
of man hath power 
on earth to forgive 
sins (he said unto 





Mt 


~ 


Mk 
10 But that ye may 
know that the Son 
of man hath power 
on earth to forgive 
sins (he saith to the 
sick of the palsy), 
UT say unto thee, 
Arise, take up thy 
bed, and go unto thy 
house. 1% And he 
arose, and straight- 
way took up the bed, 
and went forth before 
them all; insomuch 
that they were all 
amazed, and glori- 
fied God, saying, We 
never saw it on this 





THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 631 


Iu 
him that was pal- 
sied), I say unto 
thee, Arise, and 
take up thy couch, 
and go unto thy 
house. * And imme- 
diately he rose up 
before them, and took 
up that whereon he 
lay, and departed to 
his house, glorifying 
God. 7§ And amaze- 
ment took hold on all, 
and they glorified 
God; and they were 
filled with fear, say- 
ing, We have seen 
strange things to-day. 


fashion. 


No distinction is here made between verbal coincidences of two and 
of three. An examination of this or any page of Rushbrooke’s 
Synopticon will afford convincing evidence of the facts. The thick 
type shows the verbal identities of the Greek text. Especially note- 
worthy is the parenthesis ‘ He saith to the sick of the palsy,’ with 
which may be compared ‘ For they were fishers’ (Mt 418=Mk 11°) and 
‘One of the twelve’ (Mt 26*°= Mk 148=Lk 22"), 


It is this double fact of agreement and difference that 
constitutes the Synoptic Problem. How is it to be ac- 
counted for? Agreement alone might point to a common 
inspiration: difference alone would assure us of the inde- 
pendence of the narratives: the two together constitute 
a problem which, after a century of critical investigation, 
still awaits a confident solution. 


437. Sources of the Synoptic Gospels.— If the common 
elements forbid the supposition that the work of the three 
Evangelists has no connexion save in its common theme, we 
are led to inquire whether it is possible to trace the measure 


632 THE GOSPELS 


and the manner of their interdependence. Three alterna- 
tives present themselves: 

1. The use by one Evangelist of the work of one or both 
of the others, the theory of mutual dependence. 

2. The common use of one or more cycles of fixed oral 
tradition, the theory of an oral gospel. + 

3. The common use of a document or documents, the 
documentary theory. 





It is evident that these three alternatives are not mutually exclu- 
sive. An advocate of the third may posit the Gospel of Mark as one 
of the documents used by Matthew and Luke: and, especially, all are 
agreed that our Synoptics rest ultimately on oral tradition. Probably 
the gospel—i.e, the facts about Jesus Christ—was preached by the 
Apostles and their converts for twenty or thirty years before the need 
of committing it to writing was felt. The living voice was yet in the 
Church, the Spirit mighty in His operation ; the written Word marks 
a time when the first generation of Christians was passing away and 
the Lord still delayed His coming. When the need arose material 
was ready, in groups of narrative and discourse received from the 
Apostles, and, Eastern fashion, stereotyped by constant repetition 
by ‘evangelists’ and catechists. So far all are agreed : the divergence 
comes when it is maintained that this fixed oral tradition suffices to 
account for the common element in the Gospels—in matter, order, 
and language—without the intervention of written documents. 

The history of these theories and the many forms they have assumed 
has a copious literature of its own. Here are given only a few broad 
conclusions which, with some notable exceptions, are gaining wide 
assent from critics of all schools, 


438. Use of ‘Mark’ and of the ‘ Logia’ by Matthew 
and Luke.—The first outstanding fact in a comparison of 
the Synoptic Gospels is that almost the whole of Mark is 
found also in Matthew or in Luke or in both. Dr. Swete 
writes*, ‘Out of the 106 sections of the genuine St. Mark 
[omitting 16’~°°] there are but four (excluding the head- 
line) which are wholly absent from both St. Matthew and 
St. Luke.’ Further, in spite of differences in order of 


* St. Mark, p. Lxiii. 


USE OF MARK BY MATTHEW AND LUKE 633 


narrative, the order of Mark is generally confirmed by one 
or both of the other Synoptics: it is known even where 
departed from. These facts naturally point to the priority 
of Mark: the counter supposition that his work is a com- 
pilation from Matthew and Luke is excluded by (1) his 
inexplicable omissions, (2) the ruggedness, vividness, and 
fullness of his version of narrative and sayings common to 
him and one or both of the others, (3) the phenomena of 
verbal agreements *. 


Matthew and Luke, then, may be held to have used a document 
practically identical with our second Gospel. There are some facts 
which suggest that Mark also is a revision of this earlier document, 
reproducing it more nearly and without use of the additional sources 
traceable in the first and third Gospels. This is the ‘ Ur-Marcus’ or 
‘primitive-Mark’ hypothesis of H. J. Holtzmann, widely adopted. 
Others, again, think that the verbal differences of the Synoptics are 
best explained by the supposition that this primitive document was in 
Aramaic (Resch, Prof. J.T. Marshall). But there is perhaps a growing 
opinion that these further hypotheses are unnecessary, and that we 
need not look beyond our Gospel of Mark for the original of that main 
outline of the life of Christ which is presented also by Matthew and 
Luke. It will appear later that there is good reason for identifying 
the substance of this triple tradition with the ‘memoirs’ of the Apostle 
Peter. 


But there is a second outstanding fact to be considered, 
in the large amount of material common to Matthew and 
Luke, but absent from Mark. In the first Gospel chs. 1, 2 
are from some special source: from ch. 26 to the end 
there is evident use of Mark. Now, if from chs. 3-25. we 
subtract the sections which appear in Mark, we have left 
a remarkable collection of discourses and parables, with 
their historical settings. A very considerable amount of 


this new matter appears also in Luke; often differently 


— re 


distributed, but with identities in substance and in language 
which point to a source used by the two Evangelists in 


= See Abbott, The Common Tradition of the Synoptic Gospels, pp. Vi, Vil. 





634 THE GOSPELS 


common. This source—the second of the ‘ty } 
theory,’ which seems just now in the ascendant—is cond 
monly spoken of as the Loeta. “" 

The discussion of this title belongs to the Introduction to Matthew. | 
But it may here be noted that it is derived from the testimony of 
Papias (early second century) that Matthew composed the ‘ Logia’ in 
the Hebrew tongue. The term ‘logia,’ oracles, better fits a collection of © 
discourses with their settings than a complete and connected bio- 
graphy : and as there are insuperable objections to regarding our first 
Gospel as it stands as a translation of an Aramaic original, the hypo- 
thesis is tempting which identifies this ‘ Logia’ (in a Greek translation) 
as the second main source of the Synoptic Gospels. Whether Mark 
knew of this is still an open question. 


439. Other Sources. Prologue of Luke (1'~*). —Whence | 
the first and third Evangelists derived the matter peculiar © 
to their Gospels we cannot say. Their narratives of the 
Infancy and of the Resurrection are not taken from Mark, 
who does not record them: the differences are too great to 
allow a common dependence on the ‘Logia.” Here each has — 
information of his own, either written or oral. In the great 
central section of his Gospel (g°!-1978) Luke has incidents 
and, especially, parables which may well have been taken 
from some earlier collection of the deeds and sayings of the 
Lord: possibly the sections 7°°~5° 233° 2418~% are from — 
the same source. But the only certain information we 

| 











possess is that afforded by Luke himself in the Protoeus to 
his Gospel. In dedicating his work to Theophilus, he 
writes: ‘Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up 
a narrative concerning those matters which have been 
fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them untd us, 
which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers — 
of the word, it seemed good to me also, haying traced the 
course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto — 
thee in order, most excellent Theophilus; that thou mightest 
know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast 
instructed.’ 


SOURCES OF LUKE 635 


The words form a unique glimpse into the motives and 
sources of one, at least, of our Gospels. Luke disclaims any 
first-hand knowledge of the facts he chronicles, but with 
painstaking accuracy he has gathered and sifted his autho- 
rities. No doubt among these was the oral testimony of 
some who had been ‘eyewitnesses and ministers of the 
word,’ reaching him both at first- and second-hand. In 
addition, there were already ‘many’ written narratives, 
probably for the most part fragments of evangelic tradition 
(else he could hardly have needed to supplement them), 
though among them it is likely that ‘Mark’ and the 
‘Logia’ had chief place. Out of these, with that ‘historic 
sense’ so manifest in his later work, the Acts of the 
Apostles, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he 
produced for the instruction of an unknown Gentile convert 
what has been styled without extravagance ‘the most 
beautiful book in the world ®*.’ 


440. For a general discussion of the evidence of the early date and 
genuineness of the Gospels the reader may be conveniently referred to 
The Barly Witness to the Four Gospels (R. T. S. Present Day Tracts). 

The following table presents at a glance the available witnesses to 
the four Gospels till the time of Origen. 

The table is based mainly upon Bishop Westcott’s Synopsis of 
Historical Evidences in Canon of the New Testament, pp. 589-90, and 
upon his and Prof. H. E. Ryle’s Articles on Canon of Scripture in 
Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible (new edition), and the work of Prof. A. H. 
Charteris, D.D., entitled Canonicity. Testimonies of less and greater 
probability are distinguished by the signs + and *, most of the latter 
amounting to certainty. 


« ©C’est le plus beau livre quil y ait.’ Renan, Les Evangiles, p. a a 


636 THE GOSPELS 


Clement of Rome 






Polyearp 


d. 167 


++ -+] Didaché, or Teaching of the Twelve ¢. 100 








+ +} Ignatius, Bp. of Antioch d. 115 













+ * *1 Papias, Bp. of Hierapolis in Phrygia d. 163 





* * +1 Basilides, celebrated Gnostic fl. 117-138 
* * *1 ‘Barnabas,’ Epistle of 100-125 
*+ -+] Hermas, The Shepherd (an allegory) c. 142 


* * * «| Justin Martyr d. 167 





* * x *! Tatian of Assyria ¢ 170 








* *  «} Hegesippus, sometime of Rome c. 175 
*+ *} Athenagoras of Athens ¢. 176 
* x x x} Trenzeus, Bp. of Lyons d. 202 


* * *} Theophilus, Bp. of Antioch ; c. 180 








* * x *| The Syriac (Peshitta) Version second century 
x * x «| The Old Latin Version second century 
x x * x] Celsus e ~ @ 178 


** +] Clement of Alexandria ss 17 





* * #1 Julius Africanus of Emmaus c. 220 








«x * * xf Tertullian of Carthage d. 220 





* * x] Origen of Alexandria and Cesarea d. 253 


The Gospel according to Mark 


(KATA MAPKON) $ 





441. Its Author.—The book is anonymous, for, by 
common consent, the titles of the New Testament writings 
are to be regarded as later additions, and the author no- 
















{ 


MARK’S GOSPEL 637 


where obtrudes his personality. But a continuous tradition 
(x) ascribes to Mark a written record of ‘the sayings and 
deeds of Christ,’ (2) identifies this work with our second 
Gospel and its author with the John Mark of the Acts and 
Epistles. 


The earliest direct testimony to authorship is that of Papras, Bishop 
of Hierapolis in Phrygia (c. a.D. 120), fragments of whose lost work, 
An Exposition of Oracles of the Lord, are preserved by Eusebius (ZH. 2. 

‘iii. 40). Papias made it his business to inquire of ‘the elders,’ 
men of the primitive Church and contemporaries of the Apostles, as 
well as from ‘ those who had been followers of the elders.’ This brings 
him very near to the apostolic age, and makes his testimony as to 
writings by ‘Mark’ (and by ‘ Matthew’) of quite singular value. These 
are his words: ‘The elder said this also. Mark having become the 

_interpreter of Peter wrote down accurately all that he remembered - 
—not, however, in order—the words and deeds of Christ. For neither 
did he hear the Lord nor was he a follower of His, but later on, as 
I said, he attached himself to Peter, who would adapt his instructions 
to the needs of the occasion, but not teach as though he were compos- 
ing a connected account of the Lord’s “ Oracles*” ; so that Mark 
made no mistake in thus writing down some things as he remembered 
them. For one object was in his thoughts—to omit nothing that he 
had heard, and to make no false statements.’ 

This connexion of Mark with Peter is affirmed also by Irenzeus and 
by Clement of Alexandria: it is ‘one of the oldest and most trust- 
worthy of Christian traditions®.’ 

By ‘interpreter’ (Epunveurns, interpres) is probably meant ‘trans- 
lator,’ i.e. of Peter’s Aramaic into Greek. The basis of the second 
Gospel thus appears as sections of the evangelic narrative used by 
Peter in his public teaching, faithfully remembered and translated by 
Mark. Justin Martyr, indeed, appears to refer to Mk 3” as from the 
‘Memoirs of Peter.’ If difficulty is felt as to whether Papias’ sugges- 
tion of incompleteness and Jack of chronological order fits such a work 
as our Gospel of Mark, it must be borne in mind, not only that all the 
Gospels are ‘memorabilia’ rather than full biographies, but, in par- 
ticular, that any ‘harmony’ will show the incompleteness of Mark as 
compared with the other Synoptics: while the criticism ‘not in 


2 Or ‘words’: the reading is uncertain, Aoyiwy or Adywr. 
> Dr. Swete, St. Mark, p. xviii. 


638 THE GOSPELS 


order’ (ob rage.) would be accounted for if in the m 
Papias is comparing Mark’s order with some other—perhaps that of 
_ Luke (Dr. Salmon) or of John (Bishop Lightfoet)—which he knows 
and approves. ; 





442. Personality of the Writer.— Mark appears in the 
Acts as a Jew of Jerusalem named John, who had adopted — 
as a secondary name the Roman prenomen of Marcus. The 
first mention of him connects his name with Peter, for it 
was to ‘the house of Mary the mother ef John whose 
surname was Mark’ that the Apostle betook himself on his 
deliverance from prison, Ac 12’. The narrative suggests 
a house of considerable size. 

It is an interesting conjecture that this may have been the house 


where (in the lifetime of Mark’s father) the Last Supper was eaten, 
Mk 14'*; that the Garden of Gethsemane was the property of its 


, 


owner ; and that Mark himself was the ‘young man’ of the incident, 
related only in his Gospel, of Mk 1451-2, 


Mark, Barnabas, and Paul.—When Barnabas and Saul 
returned from Jerusalem to Antioch, after their mission of 
famine-relief, they took Mark with them (Ae 12*°), and 
afterwards as their ‘attendant’ (iéanpérys) on their first mis- 
sionary journey (13°). At Perga he left them (13) and 
returned to Jerusalem. It is at least possible that he had 
home claims which deterred him from an unforeseen ex- 
tension of trayel®, and at a later period Barnabas was 
quite ready to take him with them again. Paul, however, 
resented his conduct as desertion: there was ‘sharp con- 
tention,” and the friends parted, Paul taking Silas, while 
Barnabas with Mark sailed for his home in Cyprus (15°°~*°, 
cf. 4°°). Neither name occurs again in the Acts, but per- 
sistent tradition assigns to Mark a ministry in Egypt and 
the founding of the church in Alexandria. This would help 
to account for the long interval before references in the 
Epistles enable us again to pick up the threads of his story. 





* See Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, p. go. 


MARK, BARNABAS, AND PAUL 639 


When from his prison in Rome Paul dispatched the com- 
panion epistles to Colossae and to Philemon, Mark is once 
more with him ;: for there can be no question as to the 
identity of Mark ‘the cousin of Barnabas,’ concerning whom 
Paul had thought needful to give the Colossian church the 
kindly warning: ‘if he come unto you, receive him,’ Col 4!°. 
The reconciliation is complete. Only three Jewish Christians 
in Rome are loyal to Paul, and Mark is one of them, no 
longer an ‘attendant,’ but a ‘fellow-worker’ (cvvepyés) and 
a ‘comfort’ to the Apostle whom he had once so bitterly 
disappointed, Col 41°" Philem *4. A still later notice of 
association with Paul is the direction to Timothy, ‘ Take 
Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is useful to me for 
ministering,’ 2 Tim 4!. And, finally, when Peter writes 
his first epistle, probably from Rome and very possibly 
after Paul’s death, he sends greeting from ‘Mark my son’ 
(6 vids pov, 1 Pet 51%), ‘ the affectionate designation of a former 
_ pupil, who as a young disciple must often have sat at his 
feet to be catechized and taught the way of the Lord, and 
-who had come to look upon his mother’s old friend and 
teacher as a second father, and to render to him the offices 
of filial piety 2.’ 


443. Genuineness.—The impression of truth derived 
from the freshness and vividness with which the story is 
told is amply confirmed by the reception of this Gospel in 
the early Church. The testimony of Papias has already 
been given. The coincidences with the evangelic narrative 
to be traced in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers cannot 
perhaps be certainly referred to one written Gospel rather 
than another. But in the middle of the second century we 
find Justin Martyr citing the ‘Memoirs of Peter’ for the title 
‘Boanerges’ given to the sons of Zebedee, a fact recorded 


* Swete, St. Mark, p. xvi. 
> Dialogue with Trypho, Xvi. 


640 THE GOSPELS 





only in Mk 3". Ivreneus repeatedly quotes the Gospel, 
explicitly attributing it to ‘Mark the interpreter and follower 
of Peter,’ and from that time onward tlie evidence of its 
universal recognition is unbroken. : 


444. Date.—An early and trustworthy tradition affirms : 
that the Gospel was written in Rome and for Roman Chris- 
tians, and Irenzus asserts what Papias seems to imply, that / 
Mark wrote after the ‘departure’ (é£od0s) of Peter and Paul. 


This statement is more probable than that of Clement of Alexandria, 
that Peter knew of Mark’s work and neither hindered nor furthered 
it. At the time of the writing of Colossians, Mark was with Paul 
(4'°), and the Epistle has no trace of the presence of Peter in Rome. 
One terminus a quo is thus given (c, A.D. 62). The date of Peter’s death 
is uncertain, but there seems no sufficient reason for doubting that he 
suffered martyrdom in the Neronian persecution, soon after the fire 
at Rome in July, 64. We may assign Mark’s Gospel, therefore, 
approximately to 65 or 66, and this receives confirmation from the — 
simplicity of its teaching, from the absence of any indication that 
Jerusalem had fallen (a. D. 70), and especially from the vagueness of 
13!* (R.V.) compared with Mt 24) and Lu 21°°. : 


445. Integrity: the last twelve verses.—It is perhaps 
impossible to read the last chapter of Mark’s Gospel without 
feeling that at verse 9 ‘something has happened.’ Up to this 
point we have continuous and vivid narrative: now it 
suddenly breaks off, returns upon itself (to verse 1), becomes 
condensed and fragmentary. Of course, apart from other 
evidence, this change of manner might be attributed to the 
Evangelist himself; but evidence is forthcoming, both ex- 
ternal and internal, which leads to the widely-accepted 
conclusion that verses 9-20 are no part of the original Gospel. 


The R.V. margin notes that some authorities have a different ending: 
this may here be conveniently quoted: with no claim to acceptance 
either on intrinsic or extrinsic grounds, its existence yet points to 
a gap which its author tried to fill. There are some differences in the 
authorities containing it; the citation is from Codex Regius (L) at 
Paris: ‘And they reported briefly to Peter and his company all that 
had been commanded. And after these things Jesus Himself sent 


. 


GENUINENESS OF MARK XVI. 9-20 641 


forth through them, from the east even unto the west, the holy and 
incorruptible proclamation of eternal salvation.’ 


External evidence.—Ii is admitted that tlie overwhelming mass of 
witnesses—MSS., versions, and Fathers—are in favour of the verses, 
and that by the middle of the second century the Gospel ended as it 
does now. But in matters of textual criticism witnesses cannot be 
counted (see § 61): here, each branch of the evidence shows notable 
exceptions. 

1. MSS. In the two oldest Uncials, the Vatican (B) and Sinaitic 
' (x), the Gospel ends at verse 8 ‘ For they were afraid’ (époBodv7o yap). 
It is, however, significant that in the former of these MSS. a blank 
space is left after the words, indicating that the chapter is incomplete. 
Codex Regius (L, eighth century) and three later Uncials (7, 7, ¥) 
give alternative and -shorter endings: so does one cursive (274), 
while another (22) notes that some copies end at verse 8. 

2. Versions. The old Syriac MS. of the Gospels discovered by 
Mrs. Lewis on Mount Sinai in 1892 (Syr‘!") ends at verse 8, the Gospel 
of Luke immediately following. One MS. of the Old Latin (k) has the 
shorter ending only.- Some copies of other versions (Harcleian Syriac, 
Memphitic, Armenian, Ethiopic) either end at verse 8 or give the 
alternative endings. 

3. Fathers. We do not encounter doubt till the fourth century, 
when Eusebius introduces an apologist as seeking refuge from a diffi- 
culty by doubting the authenticity of these verses, which are wanting 
in ‘the accurate copies,’ and, again, ‘in nearly all the copies*.” The 
testimony does not perhaps gain much from its reproduction by 
Jerome, with whom it becomes a definite statement that ‘ almost all 
Greek copies are wanting in this section», a fact which in no wise 
affects its inclusion in Jerome’s own version ; but if, as Dean Burgon 
suspects, Eusebius is repeating the suggestion of an older writer, 
‘probably Origen,’ we have patristic evidence adverse to these verses 
of much earlier date and higher authority. 


Internal evidence.—The argument from the non-Marcan elements 
in the style and vocabulary of these verses requires a study of the Greek 
text (e.g. ‘On the first day of the week,’ verse 9, and also verse 2) : 
but in verse 2 Mark writes 77 pua Tay caBBarwy, whereas in verse 9 the 
expression is mpw#Tn caBBarov. For a list of instances and a discussion 
of the whole case favourable to Mark’s authorship the student may be 


2 Eusebius, in his Book of Questinos and Solutions concerning the Passion 
and Resurrection of the Saviour, addressed to Marinus. 
> Jerome, Letter to Hedibia, a lady in Gaul. 
Tt 


642 THE GOSPELS 


referred to Dean Burgon, On the last Twelve Verses of St. Mark. The'argu- 
ment from sfyle is notoriously uncertain: yet it must not be forgotten 
that it is cumulative, and that it gains greatly in force if associated with 
any external evidence, Other unexpected features, in addition to 
those mentioned at the outset of this discussion, lie on the surface to 
the observant English reader: the description of Mary Magdalene, as 
if now for the first time she appeared in the story (16°, ef. 15*7 16") ; 
the bald paragraphs summarizing accounts found in the other Gospels; 
the unique character of verses 16-18. 

The net result would seem to be that at least serious doubt must 
attach to these twelve verses. It is inconceivable that Mark deliberately 
ended with the words ‘for they were afraid’; an anti-climax indeed, 
and worse in the Greek, where the final word would be the particle 
yap. We may, perhaps, conjecture that in some way Mark’s auto- 
graph lost its last leaf before copies were made, and that separate 
attempts were made to supply the missing close, of which our present 
ending is immeasurably superior, both from intrinsic merit and from 
weight of attestation. See the Excursus by Dr. Swete on ‘The alterna- 
tive endings of this Gospel’ in his St, Mark, Introd. xi, 


446. Contents and Characteristics.—The two main 
themes of the Gospel are the ministry in Galilee and the 
last week in Jerusalem: these are preceded by introductory 
matter, and are separated by a brief summary of intervening 
eyents. Thus :— 


11-13 Introduction : John the Baptist : the Baptism and Temptation. 

114-9°° Ministry in Galilee, 

1o'—®? Events in Perwa and Journey to Jerusalem. 

11-168 The Last Week : Trial, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. 

Mark’s Gospel is ‘a swift narrative of Divine doing.’ He 
omits the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, all the 
parables except four, and all the longer discourses except 
that on the Second Advent. Yet in vividness, fullness, and 
picturesque detail he often surpasses the other Synoptists. 

Details peculiar to this Gospel.—1. Some few incidents are men- 
tioned by Mark only: as the alarm of the relatives of Jesus at what 
seemed to them His mental aberration (3”), and the incident of the 
young man in the linen robe, who narrowly escaped arrest on the 
night of the Betrayal (145°*), conjectured by some expositors to have 
been Mark himself. 


CHARACTERISTICS OF MARK’S GOSPEL 643 


2. Parables*. Mark relates but four, one of which, the Seed growing 
secretly (4°*-**), is peculiar to this Gospel, as is also the parabolic 
passage 13°°—S7, : 

3. Miracles*. Eighteen in all are recorded by Mark, but there are 
only two exclusively his, the healing of the deaf and dumb, accom- 
panied by the sigh and upturned look of the all-gracious Healer 
(7°!-37), and that of the progressive healing of a blind man at Beth- 
saida (822-2*)the only miracle of its kind recorded. 

4. Writing especially for Gentile readers, Mark gives explanations 
which to Jews would have been quite superfluous, e.g. the ‘ river’ 
Jordan, 1°; the Mount of Olives ‘ over against the Temple,’ 13°; also 
in reference to Jewish ceremonial customs, 7° 14)? 15%. 

5. The additions in minute particulars and graphic touthes which 
strikingly characterize this Gospel are far too numerous to be given in 
full, but the following may be noted as indications of an independent 
writer, and of one whose descriptions are often based upon those of 
an eyewitness: (i) Names: that Simon Jesus surnamed Peter (33°) ; 
James and John, Boanerges (317); that Bartimzeus was the name of 
the blind beggar at Jericho (1o**); that Simon of Cyrene was the 
father of Alexander and Rufus. (ii) Number: that the herd of swine 
numbered ‘ about two thousand’ (5!5); that the twelve Apostles were 
sent forth, ‘two by two’ (67, but ef. Lu 1o!); that before the cock 
crew twice Peter would thrice deny his Lord (145°). (ili) Time: 
‘in the morning... a great while before day’ (1°°); ‘the same day, 
when the evening was come’ (4°) ; ‘whenever even was come, He 
went out of the city’ (117°) ; the hour of the Crucifixion, ‘ the third 
hour’ (15), (iv) Place: ‘by the sea side’ (2!8) ; ‘a place where two 
ways met’ (114); ‘over against the treasury’ (12*!); ‘over against 
Him’ (15°°) ; ‘on the right side’ (16°). (v) Many minute traits and 
touches in reference to (a) Colour, 6°° (mpaciai, ‘garden plots’) 9° 
165; (b) Look, feeling, or gesture, 141-48 35 75334 812-23 927-38 7918.21, 

Key-words.—Among characteristic expressions occurring in the 
Gospel, observe (1) the frequency of the word straighiway («iévs), 
immediately. (2) Emphasis by repetition, e.g. ‘he... began to publish 
it much, and to blaze abroad the matter’ (1*°); ‘that sprang up and 
increased and brought forth’ (4°); ‘and with many such parables spake 
He unto them’ (455°); ‘I know not, neither understand I’ (14°). (3) 
Introduction of Aramaic words, as probably heard from the lips of 
Christ. (4) Also of Latin words and phrases. See the enumeration, 


§ 40, p. 44. 


* See Tables, pp. 664, 665. 
Tt2 


644 THE GOSPELS 


The Gospel according to Matthew 
(KATA MAT@AION) 


447. Its Author.—The first Gospel, like the second, is 
anonymous, but by uniform tradition is ascribed to the 
Apostle Matthew. The one incident related of him is his 
call and instant obedience. He was a ‘publican’ (reAdvys), 
collector of customs at the important commercial centre 
of Capernaum. At Mk 2" Lu5” he is called Levi, probably 
with greater accuracy, if, as is probable, he assumed the 
name of Matthew (Mar@aios or Ma@6aios = Theodore, gift of 
God) on becoming a disciple. 


It is characteristic that Matthew himself uses only the later name 
(Mt 9°), and adds to his own name in the list of the Apostles the 
designation ‘the publican’ (1o*). The identity of Levi and Matthew 
is put beyond doubt by a comparison of the narrative at Mt 9° with 
Mk 2" Lu 5%; and by the fact that there is no Levi in the four lists 
of the Apostles (Mt 1o Mk 3 Lk 6 Ac 1), while Matthew has place in 
them all. Mark adds (2'*) that he was the son of Alphseus (not the 
father of James, for the lists forbid such a connexion); and from 
Luke we learn that the ‘eating with publicans and sinners’ which 
followed the call of Levi was at a ‘ great feast’ (50x, reception) given 
by the new disciple in honour of Jesus. 

This Gospel, though evidently freely used by Justin Martyr, is first 
cited as Matthew’s by Irenzus, and thenceforward has its undoubted 
place in the ‘fourfold Gospel’ (verpapoppoy edayyéAvov)*. But there 
is an earlier testimony of Papias preserved by Eusebius” which ascribes 
to Matthew an Aramaic work: ‘So then Matthew composed “the 
Oracles” (rd Ady:a) in the Hebrew language, and each one translated 
them as he was able.’ Similar statements are made by Irenzus, 
Origen (who expressly identifies the Hebrew work of Matthew with 
our first Gospel), Eusebius, and other patristic writers. None of 
these claim to have seen the Hebrew Gospel; but Jerome affirms 
that he had seen and transcribed the copy in the Library of Pamphilus 


® Tren. Contr. Her. iii. 11. 8, 
> Eus. H. E. iii. 40. 





we 


MATTHEW’S GOSPEL 645 


at Cxwsarea. It is, however, generally agreed that he is confusing the 
apocryphal ‘Gospel according to the Hebrews’ with the Aramaic 
original of Matthew. The fragments of the apocryphal Gospel which 
survive show a wide divergence. Moreover, Jerome was of course 
acquainted with the Greek Matthew, yet tells us that he translated 
the ‘Gospel according to the Hebrews’ into both Greek and Latin, 
a superfluous task, if this were the original form of the first oe 

It would seem that there were in fact three writings, not kept distinc 
in the tradition : (1) the Aramaic Gospel according to the Hebrews, 
(2) Matthew’s Aramaic ‘ Logia,’ (3) the Greek ‘ Gospel according to 
Matthew.’ The main problem is as to the relation of (2) and (3). 
It would be an easy solution if we could with confidence attribute 
both to Matthew. Possibly the use of the past tense, ‘ interpreted as he 
could,’ implies that, when Papias wrote, the need for haphazard trans- 
lations had been done away by the issue of an authorized Greek ; 
version of Matthew’s work, for which the Apostle himself may have 
been responsible. And since at a later date we find a Greek Gospel 
of Matthew in possession of the field, the presumption is that it is of 
this that Papias is tracing the origin. 

No great difficulty need be found in the application of the term 
‘Logia’ to the first Gospel as a whole. Patristic usage shows that the 
word may cover facts and incidents, as well as sayings; it is even 
specially appropriate to the work of which the most characteristic 
feature is its full record of the discowrses of our Lord. But it is prac- 
tically certain that our first Gospel is an original Greek work, and not 
atranslation. The style forbids, and the bulk of the citations from 
the O. T. (those common to Matthew with Mark or Luke or both) are 
from the LXX. Matthew may conceivably have written two inde- 
pendent works, one in Aramaic, a compilation of sayings of the Lord, 
and one in Greek, a complete Gospel, in which these were incorpo- 
rated. Butwe have seen that in what the first Gospel shares with the 
second the priority of Mark is to be conceded ; and it is not likely that 
an original Apostle and eyewitness would depend for his material on 
Mark. Nor in Matthew’s version of the ‘ Petrine Memoirs’ are the 


touches which suggest the eyewitness conspicuous.. It seems safer, 


therefore, to rest in the assurance that what is most characteristic 
and precious * in Matthew’s Gospel is derived from the ‘ Logia,’ a col- 
lection of our Lord’s sayings made by the Apostle himself, no doubt 


2 It is the discourses contained in this Gospel which lead even 
Renan to style it ‘the most important book of Christendom, the most 
important book which has ever been written.’ Les Evangiles, p. 212. 


646. THE GOSPELS 





comprising historical matter also. With these is combined the eub- 
stance of Mark’s Gospel derived from Peter : yet the name of Matthew 
clings to the whole. So is tradition vindicated; and if in part 
Matthew’s authorship becomes less direct, we find a dual apostolic 
origin of his Gospel in place of a single. 


448. Its Genuineness, Integrity, and Date.—Nothing 
need be added to what is said above as to the early 
recognition of the Gospels, except that echoes of Matthew 
are clearer and more abundant in the sub-apostolic writings ® 
than of Mark. 

The integrity of this Gospel cannot be seriously 
questioned. Whatever difficulties may be found in the first 
two chapters as compared with the parallel narrative in 
Luke, the external testimony is unanimous in making them 
part of the original work. Indeed, the only considerable 
passage which is in doubt is the Doxology to the Lord’s 
Prayer (6'°). Here the adverse evidence is so decisive that 
the words are dropped from the R.V. without even a 
marginal note. Probably they are an insertion due to the 
liturgical use of the prayer, and may ultimately rest upon 
1 Ch 29", 

Date of the Gospel.— While later than Mark, it may 
fairly be argued from Mt 24 compared with Lu 21*" (note 
the vagueness and the solemn warning, ‘Let him that 
readeth understand’) that the crisis had not yet arrived. 
Moreover, such passages as Mt 4° 5° 227 23° ~%4 242-18 2798, 
with their allusions to the Holy City, Holy Place, City of 
the Great King, seem to imply that the Gospel was written 
some time before the tragic end of the war in A.D. 70. 
Matthew’s Aramaic ‘Logia’ may probably be placed some 
five or ten years earlier. 


449. Its Contents and Characteristics.—The greater 
part of the book deals with the ministry in Galilee, but 


~ Especially in Justin Martyr. 


CHARACTERISTICS OF MATTHEW’S GOSPEL 647 


Mark’s narrative is amplified, both here® and in the final 
scenes in Jerusalem?, by the introduction of large bodies 
of connected teaching. This leads to some changes from 
Mark’s order: probably also the compression in narrative 
as compared with Mark, continually observable, is to -be 
traced to the same cause °. 

11-2*5 Birth and infancy of Jesus. 

3'-4" Preparation for the Ministry. 

4/°-18%5 Ministry in Galilee. 

19!-20%4 Perza, and journey to Jerusalem. 

z11-25*6 Teaching in Jerusalem. 

261-2879 The Passion and the Resurrection. 


The Gospel is mainly addressed to Jews. The evident aim 
of the writer is in the first instance, by a simple record of what 
our Lord did and suffered, to redeem his Master’s memory 
from reproach, to disarm the prejudices of his country- 
men, and to set forth the true character of the Messiah. 
More generally, the book may be regarded as an exposition 
of the ‘kingdom of heaven,’ or more precisely, ‘of the 
heavens,’ a phrase occurring thirty-three times in this Gospel, 
and in no other. Hence also the spiritual interpretation of 
the Law in the Sermon on the Mount; with the frequent 
appeals to the Prophets (17° 2®15-18 33 41 817, &c.), the 
citations, direct and indirect, amounting to about sixty-five, 
a far larger number than in any other Kvangelist. These 
are, in the sections common to Matthew with Mark or 
Luke or both, mainly from the LXX; in those’ peculiar to 
Matthew, more nearly from the Hebrew. There should 
also be noticed Matthew’s accounts of the refutation of the 


® The Sermon on the Mount, chs. 5-7; Instructions to the Twelve, ch. 10; 
Parables, ch. 13. 

> Woes on the Pharisees, ch. 23; Parables, ch. 25. 

© There seem to have been recognized limits as to the size of ancient 
books. The three longest books of the N. T. (Matthew, Luke, and 
Acts) are almost exactly the same length. See J. Armitage Robinson, 
The Study of the Gospels, p. 45. 


648 ‘THE GOSPELS 


various Jewish sects, his care in narrating such parts of 
our Lord’s discourses as were best suited to awaken his own 
nation to a sense of their sins, to correct their hopes of an 
earthly kingdom, and to prepare them for the admission 
of the Gentiles to the Church. 


Details peculiar to this Gospel.—Some of these have special 
significance when viewed in connexion with the purpose of this 
Gospel as sketched in the foregoing paragraphs. 

I. General incidents. The vision of Joseph (12°**), the visit of the 
Magi (2!~’), the flight into Egypt (21°), the massacre of the infants 
(216), Peter’s confession of Christ in detail (164-®°), the dream of 
Pilate’s wife (27'°), the death of Judas (275°), the resurrection of 
certain saints (27°), the bribery of the Roman guard (28!~"), and the 
baptismal commission in detail (28%), 

2. Parables, ‘The Tares (1374 8°48), the Hidden Treasure (13), 


the Pearl (13**4°), the Drag-net (13*”), the Unmerciful Servant (18°), _ 


the Labourers in the Vineyard (20'—*), the Two Sons (218-3), the 
marriage of the King’s Son (22!-'5), the Ten -Virgins (25'-*5), the 
Talents (254°), 

3. Miracles. The cure of two blind men in a house at Capernaum 
(g97"-1), the healing of a dumb demoniac (9°**5), the coin in the fish’s 
mouth (1774—*7), : 


Key-words.— The following characteristic phrases and expressions 
strikingly illustrate the main design of the Gospel: ‘ That it might be 
fulfilled’ (iva or Gras TtAnpwO) ; ‘the kingdom of the heavens,’ as above 
noted (7 BaciAcia Tay ovpav@v), thirty-three times; ‘Our Heavenly 
Father’ or ‘Father in heaven’—literally ‘in the heavens’ (6 mzarnp 
6 ovpavtos, 6 naT?p 6 év Tois ovpavois), about twenty-two times; the refer- 
ence to the Messiah under the name ‘Son of David’ (eight times). 
Among other characteristic expressions note the frequent use, about 
sixty times, of ‘Lo! behold’ (idov) when introducing anything new ; 
also the use of 7é7«, as the particle of transition, rare in the other 
Gospels, but occurring ninety times in this. These are only a few of the 
peculiarities of style and diction ; for others see Archbishop Thomson’s 
article on ‘Gospel of Matthew’ in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. 





———— a 


a 


LUKE’S GOSPEL 649 


The Gospel according to Luke 


(KATA AOYKAN) 


450. Its Author.—The opening words of the ‘ Acts of 
the Apostles,’ addressed to one Theophilus, speak of a 
‘former treatise concerning all that Jesus began both to do 


- and to teach’: the dedication of the third Gospel to 


Theophilus makes it clear that this is the ‘former treatise’ 
referred to. The identical authorship of the two books is 
all but universally conceded, and, if only on grounds of 
language and style, is really beyond question. Now in 
three sections of the Acts the author appears as a companion 
of Paul. At Troas, Paul sees in vision a man of Macedonia, 
‘and straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia,’ 
161018. The author is with Paul in Philippi: then the 
narrative proceeds in the third person till Philippi is re- 
visited, 20°-§. The we continues till Jerusalem is reached, 
2117-18 and reappears for the voyage to Rome, 27/-28!% To 
whom, then, among Paul’s companions are the Acts and 
third Gospel to be attributed? Tradition, from Irenzus 
onward, unhesitatingly says to Luxe, with what warrant 
may better be. discussed in the Introduction to the Acts. 

The very obscurity of the name is in its favour. Apart from the 
anonymous indications of the Acts, Luke is only three times men- 
tioned in the New Testament. 

Col 4 ‘Luke, the beloved physician.’ 

Philem * ‘Tuke, my fellow worker.’ 

2 Tim 4" ‘Only Luke is with me.’ 


His presence in Rome during Paul’s first imprisonment confirms the 
supposition that he is the author of the we-section, Ac 27!-281®: his 
sole adhesion to the Apostle in the second imprisonment explains 
Irenzeus’s description of him as ‘inseparable from Paul.’ He was 
a Gentile by birth, for in Colossians he (with Epaphras and Demas) is 


* Tren. Adv. Her. ili. I, 14, 15. 


650 THE GOSPELS 





distinguished from those ‘ who are of the circumeision’ (4™). Tradi- 
tion makes him a proselyte and a native of Antioch, but both par- 
ticulars are doubtful. The latter may be due to a confusion with the 
Lucius (Aovmos) of Ac 13', but the names are distinct : Luke (Aouxas) 
is a contraction of Lucanus, as Silas of Silvanus, A more probable 
suggestion connects him with Philippi *. 


451. Its Genuineness, Integrity, and Date.—Not 
only does this Gospel share in the abundant recognition 
given to the other Synoptics from the middle of the second 
century: it has a special and earlier attestation from 
Marcron of Pontus (¢. a.p. 140). The New Testament of 
his own selection which he brought to Rome consisted of 
a Gospel and an Apostolicon (ten of Paul’s Epistles). This 
Gospel can be in large part reconstructed from citations by 
his opponents Tertullian and Epiphanius, and proves to be 
a revised and mutilated version of Luke ». 

Integrity.—A passing reference must suffice to certain 
textual phenomena in the closing chapters which led W H 
to enclose some passages in double brackets, as of doubt- 
ful authenticity (especially 221%-2° 49-44 9334 9451.52), ‘Their 
judgement in here following those Western authorities 
which in general they neglect, is open to serious doubt. 
Blass thinks that Luke himself issued two editions of his 
Gospel (and also of the Acts), one for readers in Palestine, 
one for those in Rome*. 

Date.—That Luke is the latest of the Synoptic Gospels 
is perhaps suggested by (1) the Prologue: ‘many’ of the 
second generation of Christians have already attempted 
a similar task ; (2) the use of the two main sources of the 
first and second Gospels, together with additional materials ; 


® See Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, pp. 200-205. 

» A discussion of Marcion’s testimony will be found in The Larly 
Witness to the Four Gospels (R. T.S.), pp. 36-46. 

* See W H, Notes on Select Readings ; also Blass, Philology of the Gospels, 
chs, 7 and 9; and Salmon, Some Thoughts on Texiual Criticism, ch. 4. 


CHARACTERISTICS OF LUKE’S GOSPEL 651 


(3) many slight touches which seem to show ‘development’ 
in the treatment of the common tradition ; (4) the modifi- 
cations in the ‘eschatological discourse’ (ch. 21) with their 
clearer indications of the siege of Jerusalem (21*°). 


These last may point to a date shortly after 7o. Julicher affirms that 
they prove it ‘ beyond question’ (Introduction to New Testament, p. 336) ; 
Blass altogether disputes the inference (Philology of the Gosvels, chs. 3 
and 4) and argues that Luke probably wrote his Gospel during Paul’s 
two years’ imprisonment in Jerusalem and Ceesarea, i.e. before the 
close of a.p. 60. It was certainly written before Acts, and the narra- 
tive of that book closes in 62. This, however, gives no certain clue to 
the date of Acts. We can only say that the Gospel may have been 
written as early as Blass maintains, while there is no valid reason for 
placing it much after 7o. 


452. Contents and Characteristics.—This close associa- 
tion of the author with the Apostle Paul naturally accounts 
for signs of Pauline influence in the Gospel. A tradition 


- was early current* that Luke’s Gospel contained the sub- 


stance of Paul’s teaching, as that of Mark was supposed to 
contain that of Peter. While the suggestion may be unduly 
pressed, it is unmistakable that there is a striking corre- 
spondence between the general scope of the Gospel and the 
Pauline teaching of grace, forgiveness, and justification. 


The universality of the Gospel is more marked in Luke than in 
Matthew or Mark; so also, especially in those parables and sayings 
peculiar to Luke, is the doctrine of man’s free justification by grace 
through faith, e.g. 17'° 184, It is as if the writer had taken for 
his motto the phrase from the Apostle’s benediction, ‘the grace of 
the Lord Jesus Christ.’ It is also noteworthy that the account of the 
Lord’s Supper given by Lu 22120? is almost identical with that of 
Paul in 1 Cor 1175-*5, There are also points of resemblance in the 
accounts of the Resurrection of our Lord, Lu 24 and 1 Cor 15). 

Luke’s use of special sources appears in the first two chapters, but 
chiefly in the central section of his Gospel, 95!-197%. The other 
Evangelists haye nothing corresponding to this record of a slow but 


* Tren, Adv. Her, iii. 1, &e. 
> Apart, that is, from the question of tezt, 


652 THE GOSPELS 





continuous progress to Jerusalem (see 9"! 13%% 174 18°! 191-8), It has 
been variously called the ‘Journal of Travel,’ the ‘Great Insertion,’ 
or, more simply, the ‘Persean Section.’ A good deal is found in it 
that is also, variously placed, in Matthew or Mark, but for the most 
part it is peculiar to Luke, especially in its parables. 


Summary of the Gospel, 
re Preface. 
1-252 The Annunciation, Nativity, and early history of John 
the Baptist and of Jesus Christ. 
3-418 The preaching of the Baptist in the Wilderness, and the 
Baptism and Temptation of Christ, 

4!4-9°° Ministry of Christ in Galilee. ™.& 

9°'-19"* Christ’s last journey to Jerusalem; the ‘Persan Section.” — 

19°°-2458 The Last Week: Trial, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and 
Ascension. $ 

453. Details peculiar to this Gospel.—The features peculiar to 
Luke are numerous and striking. Among the principal are :— 

1. Events. (i) The account of the parentage and birth of the Lord’s 
forerunner, and of the birth of the Lord Himself; His circumcision, 
presentation in the Temple; His visit at twelve years of age to the 
Temple. (ii) Most of the incidents and sayings included in 9%— 
19*°, (iii) Circumstances attending the trial and death of Christ ; 
His look upon Peter; the trial before Herod Antipas; three of the 
‘Sayings’ on the Cross; the prayer for the executioners ; the promise 
to the penitent ; and the commendation of His departing spirit. (iv) 
Circumstances attending the Resurrection ; the appearance to Peter, 
to Cleopas and an unnamed disciple ; the Ascension. 

2. Miracles. Miraculous draught of fishes (5*“) ; raising the widow's 
son (74-!8); and four miracles of healing :—of the deformed woman 
(13-17) ; the man with the dropsy (14!~®) ; the ten lepers (174—) ; 
and the wounded ear of Malchus (225°51), 

3. Parables. Of these, three have reference to prayer, a prominent 
subject throughout the Gospel:—the Friend at Midnight (11°) ; 
the Pleading Widow (18'-*); the Pharisee and Publican (18'—*), 
Illustrating the seeking love and free forgiveness of God are the twin 
parables of the Lost Coin and the Lost Son (15***), prefaced by one 
found also in Matthew’s Gospel. Pertaining also to the forgiving Love 
of God and Divine forbearance are the parables of the Two Debtors 
(7S), the Barren Fig-tree (13°-*), and the open invitation, the Great 
Supper (14?°-*4), Man’s relation to his fellow man is set forth in the 
parable of the Good Samaritan (10%°-%7), Concerning the future life 





FEATURES PECULIAR TQ LUKE 653 


fend its relation to the present are the parables of the Rich Fool 
(2211), the Dishonest Steward (r6'5), the Rich Man and Lazarus 
(764%!) ; and of reward according to labour, that of the Pounds 
(9). 

4. Discourses. At Nazareth (4'**°); instructions to the Seventy 
' fto'®), and other utterances recorded in 9**-19"*; the conversation 
with two disciples going to Emmaus (241%), 

5. Holy Songs. The records of these comprise the Magnificat, or the 
Song of Mary (1** 5); the Benedictus, or the Psalm of Zacharias 
(2°) ; the Gloria in Ezcelsis, or the Song of the Angels (2'*); and 
the Nune Dimittis, or the Death Song of Simeon (27°%?). 

6. Angelic Appearances. The Gospel begins with the appearance 
of an angel to Zacharias as he ministered in the Temple; then 
_ follows that of Gabriel to Mary of Nazareth ; and of ‘a multitude of 
the heayenly host’ to the shepherds of Bethlehem. And as it begins, 
so the Gospel closes with the record of ministering angels : of one who 
_ in Gethsemane ‘ appeared unto Him, strengthening Him’ ; and of the 
two ‘in shining garments, who, on the morning of Resurrection 
triumph, inquired of the woman at the sepulchre, ‘ Why seek ye Him 
_ that liveth among the dead?’ 


Style and characteristic expressions.—All authorities testify to 
the grace of the style of Luke. The old tradition that he was a painter 
is true to the extent that he was an artist in words, preserving to us, 
in what Renan speaks of as ‘the most beautiful book ever written,’ 
a portraiture of Jesus that is suffused with artistic skill) As a man 
_ of letters, and skilled in composition, the use by Luke of more classical 
words for many that are used by the other Evangelists, his fondness 
for long compound words, and other distinguishing features of style 
are apparent to observant students of the Greek Testament, but 
 eannot be represented in any version. 

One notable key-word of this Gospel, in accordance with iis evange- 
_ listie universalism, is the verb to preach good tidings (ebayyedi€opar), 
719 p10 218 41843 81 96 1615 20! Saviour, salvation, are words used only by 
Luke amongst the Synoptists, 1*7-*°-"+-77 211-59 36 199, and each once only 
by John 4?*-*7._ To glorify, in the sense of to ascribe glory, honour to 
God, is another characteristic expression, as seen in the passages 27° 

15 525.26 716 7313 7715 7848 o247| More than in any other Gospel is the 
dignity of womanhood recognized, as depicted not only in Luke’s 
delineation of the mother of our Lord, but in the oft-recurring refer- 
ences to women, in Christ’s relation to them,and theirs to Him. See 
J, 2 passim, 73-17 81-348 1032+? 1315 2378, &e, 


654 THE GOSPELS 





The Gospel according to John 
(KATA IQANNHN) 


454. Its Author.—The Synoptic Gospels are not only 
anonymous, they are impersonal. The Prologue to Luke, 
in which the author refers to, but does not name himself, is 
the one exception. It is otherwise with the fourth Gospel. 
Though still anonymous—neither John nor his brother 
James is named in the Gospel, the ‘sons of Zebedee’ only 
once (212)—it has three passages in which the author in- 
directly appears. With the first of these may be compared 
one from the Epistle which is admittedly from the same 
hand as the Gospel. 


A, 14 1Jn 1) 


And the Word became flesh, | That which was from the be- 
and dwelt among us (and we be- | ginning, that which we have 
held his glory, glory as of the | heard, that which we have seen 
only begotten from the Father), | with our eyes, that which we be- 
_ full of grace and truth. held, and our hands handled, 
concerning the Word of life (and 
the life was manifested, and we 
have seen, and bear witness, and 
declare unto you the life, the 
eternal life, which was with the 
Father, and was manifested unto 
us); that which we have seen 
and heard declare we unto you 
also, that ye also may have fellow- 
ship with us, 


B. 19% 
And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true : 
and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe. 
Cc. a1 


This is the disciple which beareth witness of these things, and 
wrote these things : and we know that his witness is true. 





JOHN’S GOSPEL eae 


The passages have been much discussed and are not free from diffi- 
culty. But there seems no sufficient reason to doubt that in each case 
the author is speaking of himself, claiming for his record the authority 
and veracity of an eyewitness. This would at once make him one of 
those ‘ which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus 
went in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, 
unto the day that He was received up from us,’ Ac 1?!, 

But there is further guidance in the context of the last (C) of the 
three passages, ‘This is the disciple.’ Which? ‘The disciple whom 


‘Jesus loved, which also leaned on His breast at the supper’ (217°: ef, 


137°-75 1976 20? 217), Now there were present at the incidents of ch. a1, 
Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and ‘two other of His 
disciples’ (verse2). Among these it is natural to look for ‘the beloved 
disciple’ in that triad who appear in the Synoptics as admitted to 
closest intimacy with the Lord, Peter, James, and John. But Peter is 
excluded by the narrative itself, while James suffered martyrdom 
many years before this Gospel could have been written. There can 
hardly remain a doubt that it is the Apostle John who in the passages 
cited claims to be the author of the fourth Gospel *. 


455. John’s relationship to Jesus.— The main facts 


_ recorded of John in the Synoptic Gospels are too familiar to 


need more than a passing reference. In the group of the 
three women at the cross it can hardly be doubted that ‘ the 
mother of the sons of Zebedee’ (Mt 27°) is identical with 
‘Salome’ (Mk 15*°). The corresponding passage in John 


(19%) is ambiguous as between three women and four ; if 


three, the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus is also named 
Mary. All the probabilities are in favour of four and so of 
identifying ‘His mother’s sister’ with Salome, the mother 
of the sons of Zebedee. Hence John was cousin to Jesus, 
and it was to the keeping of one who was kinsman as well 
as loved disciple that He committed His mother (1927), 
Three incidents illustrate that side of the Apostle’s character 
(due perhaps to his Galilean origin) which earned for him 
and his brother the title Boanerges (Mk 31"). See Mt 
2020-24 — Mk 10%*—41 Mk o38=Lu of Lu 9%. 

8 How far the argument is affected if ch. 2t be regarded as an 
‘ Appendix’ to the original Gospel is considered below, §-460, 2. 


ny. 


656 THE GOSPELS 






456. John in the Apostolic History.—In Ac 3, 4, 
and 8 he appears as companion of Peter. If we assume 
his authorship of the Apocalypse, he there speaks of him- — 
self as ‘in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word 
of God and the testimony of Jesus.” Many traditions 
connect his later life with Ephesus. ‘ Nothing is better 
attested in early Church history than the residence and 
work of St. John at Ephesus. But the dates of its com- — 
mencement and of its close are alike unknown. It began 
after the final departure of St. Paul, and it lasted till about 
the close of the first century. This may be affirmed with 
confidence *.’ 


457. Genuineness: External Testimony.—The earliest 
reference to the Gospel by name is found in Theophilus of — 
Antioch (c. A.D. 180), who cites 11 with the preface ‘ John 
says.’ Irenwus without hesitation attributes it to ‘John 
the disciple of the Lord who also leaned upon His breast,’ 
and affirms that he wrote in Ephesus, where he remained 
till the times of Trajan (A.p. 98-117)”. Similar testimony 
is given by Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and later 
writers. ‘In the last quarter of the second century, and — 
subsequently, if we except the shadowy Alogi®, the Gospel 
was universally and without hesitation received as the work 
of the Apostle John, who composed it at Ephesus in his old 
age, after the publication of the other Gospels. This, then, 
is the view which, following a well-established rule in 
literary questions, we are to accept unless adequate reason 
can be shown for not doing so 4.’ 

Nor is earlier testimony lacking. Recent investigations 

® Westcott, St. John, p. xxxiv. 

> Adv. Her. iii. 1. 1; 3. 43 ii. 22, 1. For the peculiar value of 
this testimony of Ireneus, who had known Polyearp, who had 
known John, see The Early Witness to the Four Gospels, p. 57. 

© See below, § 459. 

4 Drummond, The Oharacter and Authorship of the Fourth Gospel, p. 79. 


GENUINENESS OF JOHN’S GOSPEL 657 


and discoveries prove the use of this Gospel by Tatian, 
make it all but certain that it was known to Justin Martyr, 
trace citations from it in Valentinus (c. 130) and in Basi- 
lides (c. 125) as quoted by Hippolytus, and, by vindicating 
the genuineness of the Ignatian Epistles and the Epistle of 
Polycarp, carry back at least a familiarity with Johannine 
ideas and phrases to the beginning of the second century ®. 


458. Genuineness: Internal Evidence.—The Gospel 
contains numerous indications, often delicate and unobtru- 
sive, of the nationality, date, and position of its author. 
The facts are for the most part incontrovertible: they yield 
an argument in ‘narrowing circles,’ a description of the 
writer growing in definiteness until it becomes difficult to 
doubt his identity with the Apostle John. 


The Argument in Detail.—The argument has often been 
elaborated >, and can here be given in briefest outline only : 
for details the reader is referred to the works named. 

The author was— 

1. A Jew: he is perfectly familiar with Jewish opinions 
(especially the Messianic expectation, ch. 171 47° 614-15 7 1218.34 
t9!°-21) and with Jewish usages and observances. 

2. Aramaic-speaking: the style is Hebraistic, the Old 
Testament quotations show acquaintance with the Hebrew 
as well as with the LXX. 

3. Of Palestine: he shows minute knowledge of the topo- 
graphy of Palestine and of Jerusalem (already in ruins 
when the Gospel was written). 


® For recent (1903) discussions of the pre-Irenzan testimony 
favourable to the Johannine authorship, see Drummond, op. cit., pp. 
84-351 ; also Dr. V. H. Stanton, The Gospels as Historical Documents, parti. 
An adverse conclusion is reached by the Abbé Loisy, Le Quatriéme 
Evangile. 

b Sanday, The Fourth Gospel, ch. xix; Westcott, St. John (Speaker’s 
Commentary), pp. v-xxv ; Drummond, op. cit., pp. 352-85. 

Uu 


658 THE GOSPELS 





4. An eyewitness: time, persons, and places are constantly — 
specified, while the graphic character of the narrative shows 
either ‘the skill of a consummate artist or the recollection 
of an observer’ (Westcott). 

5. An Apostle: he is an eyewitness closely intimate with 
the thoughts and doings of the Apostles and of the Lord. 

At this point the argument meets that from the direct 
evidence which the Gospel contains of its authorship (see 
above), and the conclusion is confirmed. 


459. Objections and Difficulties considered.—There is no doubt 
that the positive argument just outlined has to contend against certain 
difficulties: but in estimating these, its combined strength of ex- 
ternal testimony and internal evidence must not be forgotten, 
Again, a mere indication of some main difficulties and some suggestion 
towards removal must suffice. 

1. The external testimony is unbroken save by ‘a few insignificant 
objectors’ (Drummond, p. 67). Certain obseure heretics referred to 
by Irenseus (Adv. Har. iii. 11) rejected the Gospel; these are generally 
identified by those later described by Epiphanius (Her. li) as the 
‘Alogi’ (dAoyo), apparently a punning nickname (the word means 
‘rejecting the Logos’ and also ‘void of reason’). Nor is greater 
weight to be attached to the non-recognition of the Gospel by Marcion. 
The argument that if Marcion had known John’s Gospel he would 
have made it the basis of his system cannot be sustained. There is 
strong initial presumption that one who was ‘more Pauline than 
Paul himself’ would choose the Pauline Gospel; the fourth Gospel is 
not anti-Judaic in the Marcionite sense—‘ It swarms with recognition 
of the identity of the God of the Jews with the Father of our Lord, 
and of the authority of the Old Testament writers as testifying to 
Him*’; and, as compared with the Synopties, it possesses special 
characteristics, so strongly marked that it could hardly have been 
taken as a typical setting forth of the Gospel of Christ ». 

2. But these special characteristics are themselyes a stumbling- 
block. It is asked with some show of reason, ‘Can the Christ of the 
fourth Gospel and the Christ of the Synopties both be historical 
portraits?’ A threefold contrast has already been referred to‘%, and 


* Salmon, Introduction to the New Testament, p. 247. 
> Westcott, The Canon of the New Testament, p. 316, note. 
© See pp. 628, 632. 


DIFFICULTIES IN JOHN’S GOSPEL 659 


further details are given below. There must be added the notable 
difference in the historical framework. The Synoptists mention only 
one visit to Jerusalem and one Passover: their narrative suggests, 
though it nowhere asserts, that the public ministry of our Lord falls 
within the compass of a single year. John names three Passovers 
(218 6* rr°°; probably not 51), and several visits to Jerusalem, in- 
volving a ministry of at least a full two years. One more point of 
difference is in the revelation and recognition of the Messiahship of 
Jesus: in the Synoptists gradual and reluctant, in John clear from the 
. first (129-4149 4°6), Here, undoubtedly, isa problem to which our sense 
of the supreme spiritual worth of the book, and our conviction that it 
is the true record of one with most intimate knowledge of the Master, 
cannot make us blind, not even though this inner witness be supported 
hy the wealth of external testimony already noted. But a fuller con- 
sideration of the facts as well as of the circumstances under which 
the fourth Go=pewas admittedly written goes far towards a solution. 

(a) The facts.—The chronology of the Gospels is difficult and un- 
certain. But Mr. C. H. Turner* shows that Mark at least of the 
Synoptists gives indications of a two years’ ministry. Moreover, in 
the fragmentary records of the first three Gospels there is ample 
room for the additional matter of the fourth (cf. Jn 20% 217°) ; while 
in the lament over Jerusalem (Mt 2357 Lu 13%4*5) there is clear 
suggestion of a previous ministry there, just as the woes upon 
Chorazin and Bethsaida (Mt 1171 Lu 10!%) are the only notices of 
‘mighty works’ done in those cities of Galilee>, Nor must the 
coincidences of John with the Synoptists be forgotten. Where his 
narrative runs parallel with theirs (the baptism of John, the 5,000 
fed, the walking on the sea, the last week) he assumes their account, 
confirms it, supplements it, here and there corrects it (e.g. the time 
of the Anointing at Bethany and of the Last Supper). 

But where the narratives stand apart the agreements are no less 
striking. The Synoptic title of our Lord, ‘Son of man,’ used only by 
Himself, appears with the same restriction in John: the characteriza- 
tion of Peter, of Judas, of Mary and Martha is evidently, like that of 
the earlier Gospels, a study from life. 


4 Art. ‘Chronology of the New Testament,’ Hastings’ Bible Dict. 
vol, i. : 

> A well-attested reading in Lu 4**, ‘in the synagogues of Judea,’ is 
by some regarded as a unique reference in the Synoptics to a ministry 
in Jerusalem. lLuke’s use of the word ‘Judsea,’ however, seems not 
exclusive of Galilee, and the inference is uncertain. 


UU2 


660. THE GOSPELS 







(b) The place and purpose of the writer.—It has already 
pointed out that John is not simply writing a life of Christ, he is 
interpreting His Person and mission: his theme is outlined in the 
great Prologue (1'-"*), his motive is summed up in his final word (20*"). 
It is this purpose which determines his selection of deed and word 
and the grouping of his chosen scenes. He looks back upon the events 
he records through many years of meditation and experience. If 
John’s own manner is discernible in his version of our Lord's discourses, 
this cannot affect its substantial accuracy. Not only does his own 
repeated claim to truthfulness forbid: to suppose otherwise and to 
attribute to his own imagination these sublime utterances would nie 
indeed to place ‘the disciple above his Lord’! 

(c) The relation of the fourth Gospel to the Apocalypse forms 
a separate problem. A comparison of the Greek of the two works 
makes it practically certain that if both are from the same hand the 
Apocalypse is the earlier. But the question rather belongs to the 
Introduction to that book. It may suffice here to quite the judgement 
of Bishop Westcott :—‘The Apocalypse is doctrinally the connecting 
link between the Synoptists and the fourth Gospel. It offers the 
characteristic thoughts of the fourth Gospel in that form of develop- 
ment which belongs to the earliest apostolic age. It belongs to 
different historical cireumstances, to a different phase of intellectual 
progress, to a different theological stage, from that of St. John’s 
Gospel ; and yet it is not only harmonious with it in teaching, but in 
the order of thought it is the necessary germ out of which the Gospel 
proceeded by a process of life*.’ 


460. Integrity of the Gospel.—Two passages call for 
remark. 


1. The woman taken in adultery, 7°°-84. The external evidence against 
this section is overwhelming, and leads decisively to the judgement 
that it is no part of John’s Gospel, a judgement confirmed by marked 
differences of style. On the other hand, ‘it is beyond doubt an 
authentic fragment of apostolic tradition.’ The only early MS. con- 
taining it is Codex Beze (D),a MS. whose Western additions to the 
standard text are being treated with growing respect as preserving 
authentic matter. Blass, on grounds of style, deems the passage 
Lucan, and attributes it to Luke’s own second edition of his Gospel *. 


‘ St. John, Introd., p. Ixxxiv : see the whole section. 
» Westcott, op. cit., p. 125. 
© Blass, Philology of the Gospels, pp. 161-4. We 





INTEGRITY OF JOHN’S GOSPEL 661 





2. The Appendix, ch. 21. The chapter is evidently an afterthought, 
_ for the Gospel reaches its appropriate and solemn close at 205. Yet 
the unanimous external attestation and the evidence of style make it 
certain that this section, at any rate to verse 23, is part of the original 
Gospel. Possibly the saying of Jesus about John (verse 23) had be- 
eome current and had been misinterpreted. John corrects the mis- 
taken impression by explaining the saying in the context which led 
to it. It is more doubtful whether the last two verses are to be 
attributed to the Apostle. The form of witness in, verse 24 differs 
from that in 19°: on this ground Westcott inclines to assign the 
verses to the Ephesian elders. But they may possibly be John’s 
repeated conclusion (cf 20°") after the resumed narrative of the 
appendix. 

461. Its Date.— For reasons already suggested, the book 
must be assigned to John’s old age, perhaps to the last 
decade of the first century. There are no data for a more 
precise determination. 


462. Summary of contents*. 
gis The Prologue, setting forth the doctrine of the Divine and 
human nature in Christ, that the Worp was in the begin- 
ning God, with God, was made fiesh and dwelt among us. 
A. 1-12 Christ’s revelation of Himself to the world. 
r-%! By the testimony of the Baptist and the first disciples. 
2'_4°* By the testimony of signs and works among Jews, 
Samaritans, and Galileans. 
51-12 The conflict between Christ and the Jews, in which 
He shows Himself to be—the Source and Sustainer 
_ of Life, 5}*7 6; the Source of Truth, 7-8"; 
_ the Light of the World, 8'*-9%; the Shepherd of 
the Flock of God, 10°!; One with the Father, 
1o”-*? ; the Antagonist and Vanquisher of Death, 
117, (Closing scenes of the Public Ministry, 12.) 
B. 13-17 Christ’s revelation of Himself to the disciples. 
The Valedictory Discourses, 13°"—16°5. 
4 The Intercessory Prayer, 17*~*. ; 
C.18-21 The glorification of Christ in His Passion and Resurrection ; 
laying down His life; taking it again. 
® Mainly based on that of Dr. H. R. Reynolds in an exhaustive 
analysis of the Gospel in his Introduction and Commentary, in the 
*Pulpit Commentary ’ Series. 


662 THE GOSPELS 


463. Details peculiar to this Gospel. 


I. Miracles.—Of eight miracles here recorded, five are peculiar to 


this Gospel: the water turned into wine (2'~”); the nobleman’s son 
healed (4°); the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda (5'~"®); the 
blind man at the pool of Siloam (9'~*); the raising of Lazarus (11); 
the miraculous draught of fishes (21'~!*). These miracles are described 
as manifestations of ‘His glory,’ and four of them are made the 
subject of discourses in which their lessons are enforced. 

2. The prominence given in this Gospel to the Discourses of Jesus 
and certain conversations is especially noteworthy. John relates none 
of the parables recorded by the Synoptists, but-gives us the dialogues 
with Nicodemus (3!) and the Samaritan woman (4*“*); the discourse 
after the healing at Bethesda (5-7), and the allegorical addresses 
on ‘the Bread of Life’ (6%); ‘the Light of the World’ (8'#) ; 
‘the Door’ and ‘ the Good Shepherd of the Sheep’ (10'®) ; ‘the Way, 
the Truth, and the Life \(14°*4) ; ‘the true Vine’ (15); the mission 
of the Comforter (16). Different in style as these discourses are from 
those in the Synoptics, there are many remarkable correspondences of 
doctrinal teaching to be found, sufficient to prove that there is no new 
development of doctrine, only a fuller expanding of truths presented 
by the Synoptists in a more concrete form. ‘The Synoptical Gospels 
contain the gospel of the infant Church, that of St. John the gospel 
in its maturity. The first combine to give the wide experience of the 
many, the last contains the deep mysteries treasured up by the one’ 
(Westcott). 

3. Key-words: Characteristic Words and Phrases.—The follow- 
ing are eminently characteristic of this Gospel, and are given with the 
approximate number of their occurrence, dependent in some instances 


upon the text followed :—light (¢as)*, eighteen times ; glory and the - 


corresponding verb to be glorified, forty times ; life ((am) and t line, fifty- 
two times ; testimony, to testify, seventy-nine times; to know, fifty-five 
times ; world (xécpos), seventy-nine times ; to believe (morevew), ninety- 
eight times, especially with the preposition of motion els, into; work 
(€pyov), twenty-seven times ; name and truth, each twenty-five times ; 
sign, seventeen times ; comforler (mapaxAnrtos), four times; to judge and 
judgement, twenty-nine times. These are key-words. John alone gives 
us the solemnly repeated Verily, verily (dunv, aunv), occurring twenty- 


® In one place (5°) the A.V. has ‘light’ for another word, signifying 
‘light-bearer’ or ‘lamp,’ as R.V. Christ was the Light, His forerunner 
but the medium of the revelation. . 





vy 
j 
‘ 


4 


GENUINENESS OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL 663 


five times. The remarkable self-assertion shown in such phrases as 
‘IT am the Bread of Life,’ ‘I am the Good Shepherd,’ ‘I am the Way, 
and the Truth, and the Life,’ ‘I am the true Vine,’ culminates in the 
thrice repeated I am (éyw eipr) of 824-2858, 


N.B.—On the genuineness and authenticity of the fourth Gospel, 
the following maintain the views here advocated, while for the most 
part fairly stating the opposite opinion :— 

Sanday, Dr. W., The Authorship and Historical Character of the Fourth 
Gospel, 1872. Devoted mainly to the internal evidence. 

Luthardt, C. E., St. John the Author of the Fourth Gospel, translated by 
C. R. Gregory, Leipzig ; with a long list of books and articles on the 
subject, up to date, 1875. 

Lightfoot, Bishop, Biblical Essays (posthumous, 1893), containing 
Papers on the External and the Internal Evidence: complete and 


conclusive. 


Godet, F., Commentaire dev Evangile de S. Jean. Paris, 1864 (translated 
in Clark’s Library). 

Westcott, Bishop, Introduction to Commentary on St. John’s Gospel 
(Speaker’s Commentary), 1880 ; also published separately. 

Reynolds, Dr. H. R., Introduction (o Exposition in Dean Spence’s 
‘Pulpit Commentary.’ 

Watkins, Archdeacon, Bampton Lectures, and article in Smith’s Bille 
Dictionary, second edition, 

Abbot, Dr. Ezra, The Authorship of the Fourth Gospel: Eaternal Evidences. 
Boston, U.S., 1880. 

Stanton, Prof. V. H., D.D., The Gospels as Historical Documents, 1903. 

Drummond, Prof. James, LL.D., from the rationalistic side con- 
tributes an argument of signal candour and cogency in support of the 
Johannine authorship ; Lhe Fourth Gospel, 1904. 


For the opposite view, see especially the learned and temperately 
written treatise by the late Principal J. J. Tayler, of the Manchester 
New College, On the Character of the Fourth Gospel; effectively criticized 
by R. H. Hutton in his Zheological Essays reprinted from the Spectator, 
1807. 


LN 


664 : THE GOSPELS 


464. Parables of our Lord in the several Gospels. 
[For Classification according to Subject, see § 141, p. 229.] 


Related in Three Gospels (Synoptics). 
The Sower 
The Mustard-seed 
The Wicked Vine-dressers 


Related in Two Gospels only. 


The Leaven 
The Lost Sheep 


Related in One Gospel only. 
The Tares 
The Hidden Treasure 
The Pearl of Great Price 
The Draw-net 
The Unforgiving Servant * 
The Labourers in the Vineyard 
The Two Sons 
The Marriage of the King’s Son” 
(The Wedding Garment) 
The Ten Virgins 
The Ten Talents 
The Seed growing secretly 
The Householder and his Servants 
The Two Debtors 
The Good Samaritan 
The Friend at Midnight 
The Rich Fool 


The Stewards and their Absent Master | 


The Barren Fig-tree 

The Great Supper ° 

The Lost Piece of Silver 

The Prodigal Son 

The Dishonest Steward 

The Rich Man and Lazarus 

The Unprofitable Servant 

The Judge and the Importunate Widow 
The Pharisee and Publican 

The Pounds 4 





Mt 


Mk 
4? 


420-83 


12)” 
x 


® Neander finds part of this parable. at least, in Lu 7“. 
> Some expositors regard this parable as identical with that in 
Lu 1416-4, For reasons to the contrary, see Trench, Notes on the Parables, 


xii, Xxi. 
© See note above on Mt 22)”. 






4 On this parable compared with that of the Talents, Mt 25, see 


Trench, op. cit., p. 258. 


36 





a 


THE MIRACLES 


465. Miracles of Christ in the several Gospels. 


Recorded in the Four Gospels. 
Feeding the Five Thou- 
sand 


In Three of the Gospels. 
Stilling the Tempest 
The Demons in the Swine 
Raising the Daughter of 
Jairus 

Healing the Woman with 
Issue of Blood 

Healing the Paralytic at 
Capernaum 

Healing the Leper at 
Gennesaret 


Healing Peter’s Mother-| 


in-law 
Restoring 

Hand 
Healing a Lunatic Child 
Walking on the Sea 


a Withered 


Healing Blind Bartimzeus 
and another ‘near 
Jericho 


In Two Gospels. 
Healing the Syropheeni- 
cian Damsel 
Feeding the Four Thou- 
sand 
Withering the Fig-tree 
Healing the Centurion’s 
Servant 
Demoniac in synagogue 
cured 
Healing a Blind and 
Dumb Demoniac 


In One Gospel only. 

Two Blind Men healed 

A Dumb Demoniac healed 

The Stater in the Fish’s 
Mouth 

Healing a Deaf Mute 

Healing a Blind Man at 
Bethsaida 

Miraculous Draught of 
Fishes 

Raising the Widow’s Son 
at Nain 








Mt 
1415-21 


928-27 
g28-34 
819.2326 


20-22 
9 


gist 
gi-4 





Mk 
635-44 


35-41 

1-20 

22—24.35—43 
5 3 
525-34 
oi-12 


ps0—45 


129-81 


24-580 
i 


gi-3 
12—14.20—24 

II | 

| 


y23—26 





Jn 
6-14 


Lu 
12-17 
9 


22-25 
g26-39 
gil.42.49-56 
gis—48 
5li-26 
5i2-16 
45889 
6s 
gs! 


619-21 
18°33 


| al—10 
7 


33-36 
4 


rri4 





666 THE GOSPELS 


In One Gospel only. 

Healing the Woman with 
an Infirmity 

Healing a Dropsical Man 

Cleansing of Ten Lepers 

Healing the Ear of Mal- 
chus 

Turning Water into Wine 

Healing a Nobleman’s 
Son at Cana 

Healing the Impotent 
Man at Bethesda 

Opening the Vyes of one 
born Blind 

Raising of Lazarus 

Miraculous Draught of 
Fishes (second) 


Mt 


Mk 





~~ 


CHAPTER XIX 


wie ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 


466. Title and Plan.—The title of the book in the 
oldest MSS. is simply ‘Acts’ (pages, 8) or ‘Acts of 
Apostles’ (B). The indefiniteness well fits the selective 
character of the contents. Only the Apostles Peter and 
Paul are at all prominent: the history of Peter ends with 
ch. 12, and Paul becomes the one centre of interest. Yet 
the greater part of the perils of which the Apostle writes 
in 2 Cor 11**~*7 are unnoticed in Acts*. There is evident 


_that choice of material that marks pwrpose—a history rather 
than a chronicle ; while the treatment suggests that informa- 


tion was here fuller, there more scanty. 

The opening words link on the narrative of the Acts to 
that of the Gospel. Whether the expression ‘all that Jesus 
began to do and to teach’ is intended to suggest that the 
writer is going to record the continuance of His work through 
the Apostles, is uncertain. Possibly the phrase means 
simply ‘did at the first,’ the contrast being not between the 
first and second stages of one work, but between the work 
of Jesus and that of the ‘Apostles whom He had chosen.’ 
This, however, is unimportant, for, in fact, the whole book 
records the ministry of the Holy Spirit, His impulse and 
guidance (the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, 
the Spirit of Jesus, being mentioned some sixty times). Its 
theme is set forth in 1° ‘ But ye shall receive power, when 


* The three shipwrecks of 2 Cor 11°° were of course before that of 


AC 27, 




























668 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 
the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be | 
witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judw#a and Sam 
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ i 
The plan, thus informally indicated, is easily recognized 
in the structure of the book. The miracle of Pentecost 
is followed by the witness of the Apostles, and the growth 
of the Church in the three stages, Jerusalem (chs. 2-7), 
Judza, and Samaria (chs. 8-12), ‘unto the uttermost part 
of the earth’ (chs. 13-28). The outward progress of the 
Church is accompanied by inward growth, especially in its 
gradual emancipation from Judaism; the third stage is 
almost wholly identified with the labours of Paul. It has” 
sometimes been argued from the abrupt close that the 
writer contemplated a third work. This is, however, 
doubtful. In Paul’s preaching in Rome, the centre of the 
Empire, the diffusion of the gospel to the ‘uttermost part 
of the earth’ is at least potentially accomplished: Paulus 
Rome apex evangelii*. 
467. Author.—External testimony from Ireneus dow 
wards is unanimous in attributing both Acts and the third 
Gospel to Luke. The known facts about Luke and the 
internal evidence of authorship are given in the Introdue- 
tion to his Gospel. It is universally admitted that in the 
‘travel-document,’ first appearing in the we of 16", we 
have the contemporary record of a companion of Paul. 
Even for this other names have been suggested, apparently 
on no other ground than that it is a ‘disadvantage to an 

hypothesis that it should have some amount of histori 
attestation.’ But Silas and Timothy are really excluded 
by the phraseology of the ‘we-sections’ (ef. 16'-! 20%), 
and if the name of Titus is rendered possible by the absence 
of any mention of him in Acts, there is nothing to give 
him preference over the positive tradition in fayour of 
Luke. So little is known of Luke that it is difficult to find 
* «Paul in Rome is the climax of the gospel.’ 


AUTHOR OF THE ACTS 669 


internal confirmation of the tradition. One such, however, 


| may be noted. Paul speaks of Luke as ‘the beloved 





physician,’ Col 4%. In 1882, the Rey. W. K. Hobart, 


LL.D. of Dublin, published a work entitled The Medical 


{ Language of St. Luke, an attempt to show that both the 


third Gospel and the Acts ‘are the works of a person well 
acquainted with the language of the Greek Medical Schools’ 


_ (p. xxix). Of this work Dr. Chase writes (1902): ‘When all 





_ deductions have been made, there remains a body of evi- 
- dence.that the author of the Acts naturally and inevitably 


slipped into the use of medical phraseology, which seems to 
me irresistible*.” He adds that Dr. Hobart’s argument 


has remained’ unnoticed by assailants of the traditional 


view. ; 

A question.— But granting that the ‘ travel-document’ is from the 
pen of an actual companion of Paul, and that Luke has the best claim 
to its authorship, does this certify the whole book as his? It is of 
course possible to regard the ‘we-sections’ as a genuine document 
imbedded by a later compiler in his own work, and thus to refuse to 
the rest of the Acts the historical credit which undoubtedly attaches 
to this portion. But such a theory labours under insuperable difficul- 
ties. It is admitted by criticism adverse to the Lucan authorship 
that ‘the writer of the book was not a mere compiler but an author. 
If he used materials, he did not put them together so loosely as to 
leave their language and style in the state he got them, but wrought 
up the component parts into a work having its own characteristics ».’ 
So marked a feature of the book is this unity, that even Prof. Schmiedel 
writes of the many attempts to partition it among several ‘sources’: 
*No satisfactory conclusion has as yet been reached along these lines ©.’ 
The argument for a single authorship is indeed unassailable: it rests 
upon (1) unity of plan and treatment, (2) linguistic characteristics— 
yocabulary and style—pervading the whole book, (3) cross-references4, 


_How then did it come to pass that this skilful and capable author of 


a subsequent age, here and there, by his use of we, represents himself 


® The Credibility of the Acts of the Aposiles, p. 13. 

» Dr. Samuel Davidson, Introduction to the New Testament, vol. ii. p. 150. 
© Encyc. Bib. vol. i. p. 45. P 

4 The details are well given by Dr. S. Davidson, op. cit. pp. 144-52. 


670 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES — 


as sharing in the events he chronicles? If of set purpose, ‘to recom- 


mend his production by setting it forth in the name of one who was | 
known to be an associate of the Apostle *,’ we are left wondering at 
the unobtrusive modesty with which he makes his fraudulent claim. — 


Others ascribe it to carelessness. The author is here using a document 
in the first person, and sets down the we just when it happens to oceur 
in his souree. But the literary qualities which these same critics 
admire in the book exclude the possibility of such clumsy patehwork. 
The only reasonable explanation is the remaining alternative, that at 
Troas the author did join Paul, accompanied him to Philippi, remained 
there till the Apostle returned, and was with him then-eforth till he 
reached Rome. So far as the evidence goes, we are on safe ground 
in ascribing both Acts and the third Gospel to a companion of 
Paul's travels, and in identifying him with ‘Luke the beloved 
physician.’ 


468. Sources.—The ‘travel-document’ thus appears as 
Luke’s own notes, supplemented by memory and research, 
For the rest we may suppose that Luke would follow the 
method suggested in Lu 11-4. With Paul he would have 
leisurely intercourse at Caesarea, Melita, and Rome, where, 
it may well be, he subsequently met with Peter. At any 
rate, Mark ‘the interpreter of Peter’ was with him in 
Rome (Col 47° Philem *), and could no doubt supply 
information about those early events in Jerusalem of which 
his mother’s house was a centre. At Czesarea Luke stayed 
with Philip the evangelist (215), and in Jerusalem met James 
and the elders (218). It is entirely probable that the 
interval of two years between the arrest and the departure 
for Rome were used by Luke in collecting authentic 
material for a work already projected. ‘There is no part 
of the history contained in the Acts with a primary 
authority for which, if we accept the natural interpretation 
of the passages where the first person plural is used, we 
have not good grounds for saying that the writer had 
opportunities for personal communication >.’ 


®* Dr. Davidson, p. 156. > Chase, Credibility, p. 22, 





SOURCES OF THE ACTS 671 


g 469. Date.—The closing words (28”°-*4) bring the history 
down to the year 62. It has been argued that the some- 
‘what abrupt ending indicates the limitation of the writer’s 
knowledge, and so that the book was written about 63. 
But the ending may be regarded as the natural and fitting 
close to the work outlined in 1°. Prof. Ramsay lays stress 
on the phrase in 11, ‘the first treatise’ (xparov, not former, 
mpotepov), as pointing to yet a third work, contemplated, 
but never accomplished. If either of these positions be 
accepted, the suggested indication of date fails. Moreover, 
it is hardly probable that Luke’s Gospel was written before 
70, and the Acts is later. This and other slight indications, 
external and internal, lead to about a.p. 80 as perhaps the 
_ most probable date that can be assigned. 


470. Historical Value.—The general impression that 
the book gives, of the truthful narrative of a careful 
historian, guided by the Holy Spirit. is confirmed at many 

"points. So long ago as 1790, Paley in his Hore Pauline 
_ traced the ‘undesigned coincidences’ between Acts and the 
Pauline Epistles in an argument which has by no means 
lost its value. The details of ch. 27 have been vindicated 
in the monograph of James Smith of Jordanhill, The 
Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul (1848), still a standard 
authority. In recent years brilliant work has been done 
on the Acts by Prof. W.M. Ramsay of Aberdeen, especially 
in his books The Church in the Roman Empire (1893), and 
St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen (1895). Some 
main results of modern investigation are gathered together 
by Dr. F. H. Chase in his Hulsean Lectures, The Credibility 
of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (1902). 

As bearing upon the question of authenticity, it is especially 
interesting to note the accuracy of the writer in the employment of 
official titles, as well as in reference to local or personal characteristics 
(see § 194). Thus, in describing Paul’s visit to Macedonia, we find at 
Philippi, a Roman colony, the ‘pretors’ and ‘ lictors’ after the model 






672 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES — 


of the imperial city (orparnyot and faBdodxo, 16%"), But in Thessa- 
lonica, a free city, the ruling authorities are ‘ politarehs’ (woAcrdpyai), 
an appellation not found in books, but occurring in an inseription 
found in this very city, and now in the British Museum. More 
strikingly still, at Corinth the chief magistrate is correctly designated 
(18) as ‘proconsul’ (dv@UraTos), as in senatorial proyinees; but the 
province was before and after this time (4. D. 52 or 53) imperial, when 
the designation would have been ‘proprator’ (dyrierpatnyos). It is 
noteworthy that the Corinthian proconsul Gallio, who is described 
by Luke as of so easy-going, tolerant a spirit, is described by Seneca 
his brother as distinguished for his amiability, which made him a 
universal favourite: ‘Even those who love him best love him scarcely 
enough.’ -Another proconsul, Sergius Paulus, was at Cyprus (13”), 
as it happened, at the very time of the Apostle’s visit, and singularly 
enough a recently discovered inscription in the island mentions 
‘Paulus, proconsul.’ The record of Paul’s visit to Athens, also, is full 
of accordances with what we know from other sources of the city and 
the time. These are but specimens of the unconscious truthfulness of 
the whole narrative. 


471. Objections and Difficulties considered.—We are 
not here concerned with the assumption which underlies 
much of the hostile criticism of the historicity of Acts, viz. 
that its records of the miraculous must necessarily be 
legendary and of late date. Nor need we do more than 
refer to the exploded theory of the Tiibingen school, that the 
book is a ‘tendency-writing’ (Zendenzschrift), a romance 
written to reconcile Pauline and Petrine Christianity. 
Tendency of a sort there undoubtedly is: the writer has 
a purpose which modifies both the substance and the treat- 
ment of his history. But recent attempts* to define this 
tendency, and to apply it to the weakening of the historical 
credit of the narrative, would seem to be as speculative and 
as futile as the earlier theory they have dispossessed. The 
positive evidence for. historicity stands firm. We may well 
be content to accept Prof. Schmiedel’s own dictum: ‘ Every 
historian who is not simply an annalist must have “ten- 


* e.g. Prof. Schmiedel in Encyc, Bib. 


DIFFICULTIES CONSIDERED 673 


dency ” in the wider sense of that word. His trustworthiness 
is not necessarily affected thereby®.’ It is not irrelevant to 
add, that in the purpose of the writer we may discern the 
guidance of the Spirit of God,—in Canon Liddon’s phrase, 
‘an inspiration of selection.’ 

There are however two or three specific difficulties to which brief 


reference must be made. 


1. The three accounts of Saul’s Conversion. The event is narrated by 


‘Luke (9'“°) and by Paulin his speeches to the crowd in Jerusalem after 


his arrest (221°), and before Agrippa and Festus at Céesarea (261018), 


' The alleged discrepancies are concerned with the words of Jesus and 


with the effect of the vision on the companions of Saul. No doubt 
there is not verbal exactness. Before Agrippa, Paul abridges the 
story and ascribes to Jesus the commission which in the other accounts 
came to him through Ananias. More difficulty has been felt as to 
the description of the effect on the rest of Saul’s company. The 
three accounts are as follows :— 


A 
9’ (after the voice) 


And the men that 
journeyed with him 
stood speechless, hear- 
ing the voice, but he- 
holdingnoman. And 
Saul arose from the 
earth, 





B 

22° (after the voice) 

And they that were 
with me beheld in- 
deed the light, but 
they heard not the 
voice of him that spake 
to me. 





c 
2615-14 (before the voice) 


I saw on the way a 
light from  heayen, 
above the brightness 
of the sun, shining 
round about me and 
them that journeyed 
with me. And when 
we were all fallen to 
the earth, I heard a 
voice. 


Two differences of detail are noted: ‘stood’ (4), ‘fallen’ (C): 


‘hearing the voice ®’ (4), ‘heard not the voice’ (B). 


The first is in 


any case trivial, and it is easy to suppose that the men had first 
fallen, then risen. As to the second, whatever precise explanation 
may be adopted, all the accounts equally convey the fact that all the 

® Encyc. Bib. i. 39. 

> R. V. marg. ‘sound’: same word as in 9%, but genitive instead of 
accusative. For the difference between dxovew gavfjs, to hear with the 
physical ear, and dove pwvnv, to hear as an act of the intellect, see 
Winer’s Grammar (ed. Moulton), p. 249. 

xX xX 






674 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 


company were aware of the miracle, but that Saul alone understood 
its meaning. More than this, unless history is to be judged by mathe- 
matical standards, we need not require. It at least speaks for the 
fidelity of the historian that in each case he used his source as he 
found it, not caring to effect an easy harmony. 

2. The revolt under Theudas (5°°). Gamaliel in his speech before the 
council refers to two insurrectionary movements which had come to 
nought : the first under Theudas, and ‘after this man rose up Judas of — 
Galilee in the days of the enrolment.’ As to Judas, Luke’s narrative 
agrees closely with that of Josephus (Antig. xviii. 1,6; Wars, ii. 8. 1), 
who also records (Anfig. xx. 5. 1) a rising under ‘one Theudas by — 
name.’ But this, instead of being before that of Judas (a.p. 6 or 7), was — 
in the procuratorship of Cuspius Fadus (a.p. 44-46), and therefore 
about ten years after Gamaliel’s speech. 

For the full details and for suggested explanations the reader is 
referred to the various Commentaries and Bible Dictionaries. It 
has been suggested that Luke has filled out his notes of Gamaliel’s — 
speech with the pertinent parallel of another Jewish insurgent, as to 
whose chronological position he was mistaken, a slip which would not 
seriously impair his general historical credit. But in proportion as 
his care and accuracy are recognized, it hecomes less easy to attribute 
to him such an editorial anachronism. The ‘mistake’ may lie with 
Josephus ; or the Theudas of Luke may be some other insurgent of 
Herod’s days, unnamed by Josephus among the ‘ten thousand other 
disorders in Judza’ of which he speaks. 

A more serious use is made of the ‘ mistake’ when it is pressed into 
an argument for the dependence of the writer of Acts upon Josephus, 
and consequently, for the non-Lucan authorship. The account of 
Theudas in Josephus is followed at a short interval by notice of a rising 
under ‘ the sons of Judas.’ It is supposed that a vague recollection of 
this page leads our author to speak of the revolt of Theudas followed 
by that of Judas of Galilee! The suggestion may be dismissed as 


curiosity of criticism *. 
™* 3. Divergences between Acts and Galatians. In protesting to the 
Judaizing Galatians his independence of the original Apostles, Paul 
records the circumstances of two of his visits to Jerusalem. Various 
difficulties occur in harmonizing his version of the history with that 
in the Acts, and these are used to the disparagement of Luke’s narra- 


® For some trenchant remarks by Prof. Ramsay on this theory as 
‘ineredible, irrational, and psychologically impossible,’ see Was Christ 
born at Bethlehem? pp. 252-257. 


a 


DIFFICULTIES CONSIDERED 675 


tive, Prof. Schmiedel going so far as to assert ‘categorical contra- 
diction.’ This, however, can by no means be substantiated. 
(a) Gal 15—*4 = Ac 9!8-5°, Paul speaks of a sojourn in Arabia as to 


_which Luke is silent. Three years elapsed before he went up to Jeru- 


salem, and when he left for Tarsus he was ‘still unknown by face 
unto the churches of Judzea.’ The notes of time in Luke’s narrative 
are vague; but it cannot reasonably be denied that they may cover 
three years. And though Luke speaks of a ministry in Jerusalem to 
‘the Hellenists,’ this very limitation, and Paul’s hurried departure, 


may well have left him virtually unknown to the Judzan churches. 


If the stress in Galatians is on Paul’s independence of the Apostles, in 
Acts on his reception by them, each narrative also hints at the other 
side (Ac 976 Gal 18). 

(b) Gal 21° = Ac15)-*. The points of difference chiefly urged 
are: the ‘by revelation’ (Gal 2?) compared with the ‘appointment’ 
of Ac 15?; the ‘ privately’ of Gal 2, whereas Acts rather speaks of 
a general congress ; and the stress in Paul’s narrative on elements of 
controversy and discord. But though the facts are recorded from 
different points of view they can easily be harmonized: and the 
agreements of the two narratives are numerous and clear *. 

(c) It is not surprising that Luke omits to record the incident of 


Gal 2-18. If the question be raised, how could Peter act so after the 


part he is said to have played in the Council at Jerusalem ? (Ac 1581), 
it may perhaps be answered, with Bishop Lightfoot, that such incon- 
sistency is Peter all over. And as Harnack has acutely pointed out, 
the incident at least corroborates the position taken in Acts ; for Paul 
could not accuse Peter of hypocrisy unless he had previously adopted 
Paul’s point of view °. 

Whatever points of difficulty may remain unsolved, there is at least 
no contradiction between Paul and Luke. Indeed the searching 
criticism to which the Book of Acts has recently been subject only 
strengthens confidence in this unique record of the history of Chris- 


tianity for its first thirty or thirty-five years. De 


472. Contents.—The chief divisions of the book are 
intimated in 1° (§ 466). The following Summary of Con- 
tents fills up the outline there given. 


® Prof. Ramsay, however, identifies the visit to Jerusalem of Gal 2 
with that mentioned Acts 115° 12”°, 
> According to Prof. Ramsay’s identification of the several visits to 
Jerusalem, the incident is prior to the Council. 
xX X 2 


\ 
676 THE ACTS OF THE APO! 


I. The Church in Jerusalem. 


Introductory (ch. 1); descent of the Holy Spirit and opening ar 


the apostolic mission (2) ; organization of the infant church, the first 
miracle, and consequent discourse (3); first persecutions ae first 
recorded case of discipline and its effects (5) ; ‘appointment of Hellenist 
diaconate (6!) ; arrest, defence, and martyrdom of Stephen (68-8?) ; 
dispersion of the community (8'~*), 


II. The Period of Transition. 

Samaria evangelized (8°-*5) ; the Ethiopian eunuch, a proselyte con- 
verted (82°) ; conversion of Saw of Tarsus (9'—); Cornelius and his 
household, ‘who worshipped God,’ embrace the gospel (10-1178) ; 
extended evangelism by the scattered disciples, culminating in the 
visit of certain men of Cyprus and Cyrene to Antioch ; first preaching 
of the gospel to the heathen Gentiles (117*-*4); Saul ealled to his life's 
work ; the disciples first called ‘Christians’ (11%®°) ; proofs of sympathy 
and brotherhood ( (1127-80), 

Interval. fener persecution in Jerusalem by Herod ; James son 
of Zebedee the first apostolic martyr; imprisonment, release, and 
departure of Peter (121-17) ; death of Herod (12°°—-**) ; Saul, Barnabas, 
and John Mark, fellow labourers (12"5), 


III. The Church among the Gentiles. 
From this time the book becomes chiefly a series of memorabilia of 
the Apostle Paul. 
Designation of Paul and Barnabas to their mission (131-5). First 
apostolic journey from Antioch and Cyprus into Asia Minor (13°14). 


Council and decision of the church at Jerusalem respecting the — 


admission of the Gentiles (15!~°). Second journey: Separation of Paul 
_and Barnabas (15°°*°); Paul and Silas in Syria and Asia Minor, 


including Phrygia and Galatia (15*!-16*); introduction of the Gospel into 


Europe by way of Macedonia (16°-17!°) ; Athens visited (r7!@-$); Paul’s 
residence at Corinth (18!-**). Third missionary journey: Paul's resi- 
dence at Ephesus (18*°-19"") ; visit to Macedonia and Achaia (20'*) ; 
final visit of Paul to Jerusalem (20*-21""). 


IV. Closing Scenes in the Life of Paul. 


Interview with the church in Jerusalem (21%); conciliatory 
measures, leading to his arrest (21*°-*°); his address to the people 


(22); to the Council (237) ; sent to Cesarea (23'*-85) ; remains there — 
for two years ; his successive defences (24, 26); on appealing to Cesar — 


(Nero) (251), he is sent to Rome ; shipwreck on the way (27), and 







i 


CHRONOLOGY OF THE ACTS 677 


a winter’s residence at Melita or Malta (28'~'); arrival in Rome, 
conference with Jews in that city ; two years of work ‘in his own 
hired house’ (28!'-*!), 


CHRONOLOGY oF THE Acts. 


Note.—The following brief summary of a very difficult and com- 
plicated problem is mainly based upon the article ‘ Chronology of the 
New Testament’ in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary by Mr. C. H. Turner, 


_ to which reference should be made for a full and able discussion of the 


whole subject. 


473. Schemes of New Testament Chronology have 
been endless, and the leading authorities are not agreed. 
The reason is the uncertainty of the data. The Book of 
Acts has many notes of time, mostly indefinite, although 
those in the later part of the book suffice for a tolerably 
certain relative chronology of Paul’s life, from his leaving 
Ephesus (20!) to his arrival in Rome. Even a note of time, 
apparently so precise as ‘after three years,’ and ‘after the 
space of fourteen years’ (Gal 11° 2'), leaves doubt as to 
whether or not the longer period is inclusive of the shorter : 
the second visit to Jerusalem may be fourteen, or it may be 
seventeen years after the conversion. It might be expected 
that the numerous points of contact between Acts and 
secular history would yield at least some fixed data, but this 
is hardly the case. 


The authorities for the period are: (1) Josephus, Wars (before 79), 
Antiquities (c. 93); (2) Tacitus, Annals, from the death of Augustus to 
the death of Nero (A.p. 14-68, with gaps in the extant work, written 
¢ 115); (3) Suetonius, Lives of the Cesars, from Julius to Domitian, 
written c. 120. Unfortunately these historians either give only 
approximate dates to the.events critical to our inquiry, or are at 
variance one with the other. Thus, uncertainty more or less attaches 


‘to the time of Aretas (2 Cor 11° Ac 9”), of the death of Herod 


Agrippa I (12%), of the famine under Claudius (11°5), of the pro- 
consulate of Sergius Paulus in Cyprus (13), of the expulsion of Jews 
from Rome under Claudius (187), and of the proconsulate of Gallio in 
Achaia (1837), 


‘ 








~ 


678 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 

Successive Procurators of Judea.—A point of contact 
that seems to promise a fixed date is that in 24°", when, 
after Paul’s two years’ imprisonment at Caesarea, ‘ Felix was 
succeeded by Porcius Festus.’ Here we have an additional 
authority in the Chronicle of Eusebius. It seems certain 
that Felix followed Cumanus in a.p. 52, but as to the 
precise date of Festus the authorities again fail us: modern 
schemes of chronology place his arrival variously between — 
A.D. 55 and 61. | 

It must suffice, therefore, to give some few schemes 
associated with representative names. For comparison, but 
as now of historic interest only, the traditional scheme of 
Archbishop Ussher (1650) is appended. 


4 


474. Tables (comparative). 


° + 
Pp -} . oO 
E 5 2 |/2ig 
F | @ |) @oooe 
E : =| 
x a a2 |/al6 
Ac | ap. | ad. | op. ja Dla. 
The Ascension es 29 or 30} 29 30 |(30)} 33 
Conversion of Saul Guat 30 ©6|35-36] 33 | 34135 
First visit to Jerusalem 9”° 33 38 | 35-36] 37 | 38 
Second , 4 oh (44) 46 | 46 | 45 | 44 
First Missionary Journey 13* 45 47 47 | 48] 45 
Council at Jerusalem ro 47 49 50 | 51 | 52 
Paul’s first visit to Corinth 18! 48 50 51 | 52] 54 
Fourth visit to Jerusalem 18%” 50 52 53 | 54 | 56 
Paul leaves Ephesus 20 53 55 56 | 571 59 
Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem 21°% 54 56 57 60 
Paul reaches Rome 2gl6 1. 5g 59 60 | 61 | 63] 
Close of Acts 2880.31 59 61 62 | 63 | 65 
Martyrdom of Paul 64 64-65! 65 -| 67 | 67 | 
Roman EmMpPERors. 
Augustus died a.p. 14 (August) 
Tiberius » 99 37 (Mareh) 
Caius Caligula ,,  ,, 41 (January) - 
Claudius » 9: 54 (October) * 
Nero »  » 68 (June) 





- 


CHAPTER XX : 
THE EPISTLES 


On THE StuDy or THE EPisrizs. 


475. Purpose of the Epistles.—In the Book of Acts 
we have seen the gospel extend throughout the known 
world. In five-and-twenty years after the death of our 
Lord, churches seem to have been formed in Palestine and 
Asia, in Greece and Italy; ‘so mightily grew the word of 
God and prevailed.’ Wherever the truth had gone, it had 
found the same opposition, though under different forms, 
and had produced the same peaceful and sanctifying re- 
sults. A more permawent record of truth, however, than 
the ‘winged words’ of speech could supply was wanting. 
The spirit which had hitherto opposed the gospel had begun 
to pervert it; and evil seducers have a strong tendency to 
wax worse and worse. ‘To explain in. writing, therefore, 
what had been in a great measure taught orally, to preserve 
these lessons in ‘ everlasting remembrance,’ and to give 
such indirect corrections of incipient error as might, if 
prayerfully studied, keep the Church from subsequent 
heresy, is the aim of the Epistles. 


Rules for studying them.—1. Ascertain by whom, and 
for whom, they were written. This rule is essential to 
the full apprehension of their meaning. For a letter to be 
adequately understood we must be able to place ourselves 
in the position both of the writer and his correspondent. 
More than in any other form of literature, the personal 
element has’ to be taken into account. Neglect of this 
obvious rule has been the source of much misunderstanding. 


680 THE EPISTLES 





Their authorship.—Of the one-and-twenty epistles, thirteen bear 
the name of Paut. As he was emphatically the Apostle of the Gentiles, 
he treats largely of the mystery of their call to equal privileges with 
the believing Jews. He maintains their freedom from the Mosaic yoke, 
urges them to stand fast in their liberty, and proves their subjection 
to the great law of faith and love. In defence of this doctrine, 
he resisted Peter to the face, endured the offence of the cross (Gal 
5"), falling at last a martyr to his attachment to this and kindred 
truths (see Introd. to 2nd Ep. to Timothy). His sentences are often 
long and intricate. His style is full of thought, prone to digression, 
but highly accurate, well guarded, and rich in allusion to the Old 
Testament. His epistles should be illustrated from each other and 
from his history. 

Peter, the author of two epistles, writes chiefly as the Apostle of 
the circumcision. His writings also should be read in connexion with 
those parts of the Old Testament to which, in almost every sentence, 
he referred. James, ‘the brother of the Lord,’ pastor of the church at 
Jerusalem, insists strongly on the ethical side of Christianity, and in 
the spirit of the old Hebrew prophets denounces the perversions and 
corruptions of the age. Not dissimilar in purpose are the epistles of 
Joun. Ilis style is rich in aphorisms, and his strong affirmations 
need to be interpreted by other parts of his own writings. JupzE 
wrote but one epistle, and that resembles the second of Peter, with 
which it should be compared. The Epistle to the Hebrews, which 
bears no writer’s name, shows the harmony of the two dispensations, 
and sets forth the meaning of the Jewish ritual, with the realization 
of its types in Jesus Christ. 

Their destination.—Of the Epistles, three seem to be addressed to 
private disciples; three to evangelists ; two, Hebrews and James, to 
Jewish converts exclusively; two more, 1st and 2nd Peter, to Jewish 
converts chiefly ; two more, 1st John and Jude, to the disciples of 
Christ in general; the last five being called ‘catholic’ or ‘general’ 
epistles; the remaining nine are addressed to various churches, 
consisting chiefly of converted Gentiles. In each case, knowledge 
of the author and the occasion often explains or illustrates the 
statements of an epistle ; they all, in various aspects, prceat the one 
gospel of Jesus Christ. 


2. Mark the special design of each Epistle. It has 
pleased the Divine Spirit to instruct mankind not in formal 
treatises, but in letters written under His guidance, and so 
as to meet peculiar emergencies; and to the emergency of 
each case each epistle is addressed. Ascertain, therefore, 


SPECIAL DESIGN OF EACH 681 


what the obvious design of each epistle is—the obvious design, 
for it is an abuse of learning to seek for some hidden 
design, and then to interpret each part in subordination to 
dt in violation of the natural meaning. 


For this purpose, the plan of Mr. Locke is deserving of all praise. 
Read through an epistle at a sitting, and observe its drift and aim. 
‘If the jirst reading (says he) gave some iight, the second gave me 
more; and so I persisted on, reading constantly the whole epistle 
over at once, till I came to have a good general view of the “writer’s 
purpose,” the chief branches of his discourse, the arguments he used, 
and the disposition of the whole. This, I confess, is not to be obtained 
by one or two hasty readings; it must be repeated again and again, 
with a close attention to the tenor of the discourse, and a perfect 
neglect of the divisions into chapters and verses. The safest way is 
to suppose the epistle but one business and one aim, until, by a fre- 
quent perusal of it, you are forced to see in it distinct independent 
matters which will forwardly enough show themselves.’ Let this plan 
be adopted by any humble prayerful Christian, by one, that is, whose 
heart is on the whole in unison with the writer's, and the meaning 
of the whole will generally appear. In the meantime, and as a pre- 
sent blessing, he will feel and appreciate individual promises and 
truths to an extent unknown before. Scripture is in fact a tree of 
life ; its matured fruits infinitely precious, and its very leaves for the 
healing of the nations. 


To aid the reader in ascertaining the design of the Epistles, 
we have indicated the paragraphs and principal sections of 
each. The arrangement of the text in paragraphs is one of 
the advantages of the R. V.; but any copy of the Epistles 
may be marked by the student with much and lasting 
benefit to himself. 

3. Mark the prevailing errors against which the teach- 
ings of the Epistles are specially directed. 

TJudaistic ritualism.—The first of these errors sprang out of the 
formalist and superstitious notions of the Jews. They still clung to 
their ritual law, and concluded that, if Gentiles were to be admitted 
to equal privileges, it must be through circumcision. ‘Hxcept ye be 
circumcised,’ was their statement, ‘ye cannot be saved,’ Ac 15}. Out 
of this question a serious controversy arose at Antioch, and though 
it was decided under the special direction of the Holy Ghost in the 





682 THE EPISTLES 


negative, it sprang up again and again, impeded the progress of the — 
gospel, alienated and often divided the church. From the first, Paul 
took a bold decisive stand. He maintained that, while a Jew might, 
and probably ought to submit to that rite so long as the ancient law 
remained, for a Gentile to submit to it was to relinquish his liberty 
and deny both the universality of the gospel and the sufficiency of the 
Cross. Throughout his preaching, and in nearly all his epistles, this 
view is maintained, Ac 15!—*! 2117-* 2 Cor 11° Gal at 3° 6! Phil 3? 
Col a%*16 Tit 110-14, &, 

Rationalistic philosophy.—While the Judaizing tendency of early 
believers did mischief in one direction, the spirit of unhallowed 
philosophy did mischief in another; proving more fatal to Christianity 
than persecution itself. This spirit appeared under different forms, 
but the essence was for the most part a proud rationalism, that re- 
fused to receive as true any doctrine which could not be made to 
agree with a previous system, or that moulded into its own system 
whatever it received. The Greeks sought after wisdom. This ten- 
dency showed itself early in the various Gnostic (y@ats, ‘ knowledge’) 
sects which sprang up in the Church; a name very loosely applied, 
and including the advocates of very different views. Such incipient 
gnosticism is especially combated in the Epistle to the Colossians. 

Formalism in religion.—A third error prevailed among all sects, 
Jewish and Gentile—the tendency to separate religion from practical 
life. This assumed various phases, though representing but one 
principle: ritualism without spirituality, knowledge without prac- 
tice, justification by faith without holiness, This was the perversion 
of Christianity which the Apostles most sternly rebuke, and which, in 
later days, has been termed Antinomianism. Many of the Gnostics 
held it, and in the persons of the Nicolaitans it seems to have led to 
compliance with heathen practices, under the specious plea of religious 
liberalism. It is, in fact, the principle of licentious religionism in 
every age, and several portions of the Epistles are directed against it. 
The followers of Balaam (probably equivalent to ‘ Nicolaitans’), men- 
tioned by Peter and Jude, as well as in the Apocalypse, were of the 
same class. 

The names of these sects (except the last) are not mentioned in 
Scripture, but their principles are. And herein is a double advan- 
tage. We are taught not to restrict the teaching of inspired men to 
their own times, and we are supplied with letters in which not sects, 
but principles—self-righteous formalism, rationalistic pride, and 

ractical immorality—are for ever condemned. A knowledge of these 
sects, however, illustrates human nature, proves our need of a reve- 
lation, and of humility in studying it, and gives clearness and force 
to the teaching of the Bible. : 


COMPARED WITH OTHER SCRIPTURES 683 


4. The most important ruleremains. Carefully compare 
the various parts of the New Testament, and especially 
the Epistles, and gather from the whole a consistent and 
comprehensive view both of truth and duty. 


Old and New Testaments compared.—The necessity of such com- 
parison in the case of the New Testament will appear on comparing it 
as a composition with the Law. The first dispensation was revealed 
through one person—Moses, and to one congregation assembled to 


_ receive it. The New Testament was composed by at least nine 


different authors, and was addressed to many congregations and 
individuals scattered over the earth. The Law was written in the 
plainest style, with systematic fullness, was adapted to the weakest 
capacity, and required submission only to such commands as were 
expressly enjoined. The New Testament, on the other hand, is 
composed of detached instructions, many of them given incidentally 
and indirectly, nearly all addressed to those who were already called 
out of the world, and had witnessed the ordinances or believed the 
truths they were directed to maintain. Obedience, moreover, is 
required to whatever was taught by word and ouIn Ls. os well as by 
epistles*, and the whole, though sufficiently plain that all may 
understand and be saved, is so rich and profound as to afford oppor- 
tunity for the exercise of the holiest spiritual discernment. 

We may conclude, therefore, that to make the New Testament our 
standard of faith and practice, it must be compared and studied with 
the utmost attention. The facts of our Lord’s life, the practical 
influence of them on the early Church, and the inspired comments 
of Apostles, must all be examined ; the principles and duties they 
involve explained ; and the whole cordially believed and practised, 
in preference to all the suggestions and inventions of man. 


476. Reception of the Epistles in the Church.— 
It does not fall within the scope of this work to discuss in 
detail the authenticity of the Epistles. It may perhaps 
fairly be said that the general trend of recent criticism is 
to confirm the traditional views, with the doubtful exception 
of 2 Peter. A general summary may here be given of the 
early testimony to the Epistles. An asterisk (*) denotes 
unquestionable evidence ; the sign (+) indicates more doubtful 
but still probable references. For the passages, see Lardner, 
Credibility, and Prof. Charteris, Canonicity (Kirchhofer’s 

“SrCor ql 7r4/Gal- xs" Phie42, 


684 THE EPISTLES 


Quellensammlung). For convenience’ sake, the 
to the Book of Revelation are included in the Table. 

The Epistles, anciently designated the Apostolicon of the 
New Testament, may be thus divided— 

1. Thirteen Pauline Epistles, as enumerated below. 

2. The Epistle to the Hebrews. 

3: Seven ‘catholic’ epistles (James, Peter, John, Jude). 

































































8 ONZE 
SSeCrrTe 
Sera 
ae 
a a4 
BRE=ES 
SoBe Ea 
Coe @ 
Be 
Ss |» ase 
Ware. sos eee 
+e + + * 
-_—~>* 
+ ~-~_ + * 
| * * * 
a 
* 
* ++ — 
— os + 
* tee * 

* + + ++ | Justin Martyr. ‘ 
iy 

J ++ | Tatian. 

+ +++ + | Athemagoras. 

* * * a a ee Trenzeus. 

_ + en Ge *e* «++ | Theophilus, > 
: oy Ta r 
: * Pe ee The Syriac V: ee 
2 eee ooo a id 
| i y = se etree eee eEB ES | The Old ion. 

“2 H : 
=) Si aes j . Y, =e as 
; a* * . “see ee eee eee HS Tertullian, — 
a 
. , 






THE PAULINE EPISTLES 685 


Tue Pavuine EPISTLEs. 


The thirteen epistles of Paul may be chronologically 
grouped, as follows :— 

I. Epistles of his Second Missionary Journey, Ac 15°°— 
18”, including his first visit to Europe—-Philippi, Thessa- 
lonica, Bercea, Athens, Corinth, a.p. 51-54. 

First Epistle to the Thessalonians, a. p. 52. =~ ~— (_» 

Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, a. p. 53. i= 


II. Epistles of his Third Missionary Journey, Ac 187° 
217° including more than two years spent in visits to the 
churches in Galatia, Phrygia, and Ephesus ; a renewed visit 
to Macedonia, and three months at Corinth, a. p. 54-58. 

First Epistle to the Corinthians, a.p. 57 (Spring). 4 

Second Epistle to the Corinthians, a. D. 57 ie Ly 

Epistle to the Galatians, a.p. 58? c_— 

Epistle to the Romans, a.p. 58. ~~ 


III. Epistles of his Roman Imprisonment, Ac 28!*~3!, 


A.D. 60-63, Wi 
Epistle to the churches of Asia (‘Ephesians’). 4 
Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon. —~ 
Epistle to the Philippians. © 


IV. The Pastoral Epistles, written after his temporary 
release (as established by internal evidence), a. D. 63-68. 

First Epistle to Timothy, a.p. 67. —_ 

Epistle to Titus, a. D. 67. 

Second Epistle to Timothy, written when prisoner a 
second time in Rome, a. D. 67 or 68. 


See the several introductions for further details. The epistles cover 
a period of fifteen years. It is probable that others were written 
which have not come down to us. We need no more suppose that we 
have every letter that Paul wrote than that we have every sermon that 


686 THE EPISTLES 


he preached. Note his phrase ‘the token in every episfle,’ at * end of 
only the second of those extant, 2 Th 317". 

The Life of the Apostle Paul should be studied in connexion with 
his epistles. Paley’s Hore Pauline is of course indispensable. The 
larger lives of the Apostle, by Conybeare and Howson, T. Lewin, and 
Dean Farrar, are full of information on all topies connected with this 
part of Scripture. The Life of St. Paul, by James Stalker, D.D., is 
a model of succinctness. Consult also Neander’s Planting and Training 
of the Christian Ohurch, Sabatier’s The Apostle Paul, and (with caution) 
Saint Paw by Renan. 


\ 


—_— 


First Epistle to the Thessalonians 


Corinth, A.D. 52. 


477. Thessalonica, formerly Therma (as ‘Bath,’ or 
‘Hotwells’), was situated on an arm of the sea (the 
‘Thermaic Gulf’). Its later name was given by the Mace- 
donian general Cassander, in honour of his wife, half-sister 
to Alexander the Great. Under the Roman government, it 
was the capital of one of the four districts of Macedonia, 
and the seat of the provincial governor or pretor, although 
itself a free city, administered by ‘ politarchs,’ Ace 17°%— 
a peculiar appellation still preserved on a triumphal arch. 
The position of Thessalonica, as the central station on the 
great Egnatian Road from Illyria through Macedonia to 
Thrace, and at the head of an excellent harbour, augmented 
its trade and wealth; and brought to it a mixed population 
of Greeks, Romans, and Jews. It is still, as it has ever 
been, a flourishing commercial town, bearing the but slightly 
changed name of Saloniki. Its geographical position and 
maritime importance fitted it to become one of the starting- 
points of the gospel in Europe, and explain the fact that 


* ‘The inference seems plain that Paul must have written other 
letters that have not come down to us. And this is a conclusion 
intrinsically not improbable, and which I see no reason for rejecting.’ 
Prof. G. Salmon, Introduction to the Books of the New Testament, Lect. xx. 





I THESSALONIANS 687 


from this city the word of the Lord sounded forth ‘in every 
place’ (18). . 

- The gospel was first preached here by Paul and Silas, 
shortly after their release from imprisonment at Philippi. 
For the church appears from the epistle to have mainly 
consisted of Gentiles (ch. 11°), gathered therefore after these 
three weeks. The references by the Apostle to his manner 
of life among the Thessalonians implies a lengthened 
residence (ch. 2°, 2 'Th 3°); and the supplies sent ‘once and 
again’ from Philippi (Phil 41°) would require some time for 
their transmission, Ac 17!~'°. Paul addressed himself first, 
agreeably to his constant practice, to the Jews, and after- 
wards, with still more success, to the Gentiles. 

Being driven away by the violence of the Jews, Paul left 
the newly-planted church in such difficulties as excited his 
anxiety respecting them, and led him to send Timothy from 
Athens, to encourage and comfort them under the persecu- 
_ tions to which they were exposed (3!-7). Timothy rejoined 
the Apostle at Corinth, and brought him an account of the 
steadfastness of the Thessalonian Christians which filled him 
with joy and gratitude (3°~°), and reawakened his desire to 
visit them. But, having been repeatedly disappointed in 
his plans for that purpose (217-18), he wrote this letter from 
Corinth, a. D. 52. 

This, being perhaps the earliest of Paul’s epistles, was 
accompanied by a solemn charge that it should be read 
publicly in the church (5”). 


478. Contents of the Epistle.—r. In the first portion of this epistle 
(z-3), the Apostle expresses his gratitude and joy on account of the 
manner in which the Thessalonians had received the gospel, and for 
their fidelity and constancy in the midst of persecutions and afflic- 
tions ; vindicates the conduct of himself and his fellow labourers in 
preaching the gospel, and declares his affectionate concern for their 
welfare. 

2. The remainder of the epistle is taken up with practical admo- 
nitions; warning them against the sin for which their city was 


' 
ei 


688 THE EPISTLES — 


te. oe 


notorious; and exhorting them to the cultivation of all Christian 


virtues, particularly to a watchful, sober, and holy life, becoming 
their happy condition and exalted hopes (4!~* 5). Special words of 
consolation are addressed to those who had been bereaved. Speaking 
by express Divine authority, he assures them of the resurrection of 
the pious dead on Christ’s coming, to be followed by the transfor- 
mation of the living; and exhorts them to take the comfort of this 
glorious hope, 4'°-5", adding a series of brief emphatic counsels—an 
epitome of the practical gospel, 5!°-*°, ending with the injunction to 
‘abstain from every form of evil’ (R. V.), with prayer and benediction, 
523-28, 

It is especially observable that, in this and the following epistle, 
there are no references to the subjects which were so prominent in 
the Apostle’s later writings—such as the freedom of Gentiles from the 
Jewish ceremonial law and the doctrine of justification by faith. The 
controversies which occasioned these specially Pauline teachings may 
not yet have affected the Macedonian churches. The simple gospel, 
as preached among the Thessalonians, is epitomized in such passages 
as 19-10 211.12 4°-7.14. He had laid especial stress upon the Second 
Advent—its certainty and suddenness, with the consequent injunction 
to ‘watch and be sober,’ 5°". From these teachings his hearers had 
drawn unwarrantable inferences as to the immediateness of Christ's 
appearing, and had mourned over their departed friends as shut out 
from the joy of meeting Him. Hence the special emphasis of such 
statements as in 414-17, ‘ We who are alive and remain ’—not denying 
the possibility of Christ’s coming in their lifetime—and ‘the dead in 
Christ shall rise first’; that is, first among His people, the sleeping saints 
before the living. There is no reference here to the rest of the dead, 
either unbelievers or heathen. 


479. Key-words and noteworthy expressions.—As characteristic 
of this epistle note especially the expression ‘the Coming’ or ‘ Advent’ 
(Parousia) 21° 318 415 5° (R. V. marg. ‘ Presence’). The message of salva- 
tion as ‘the Gospel of God,’ 2**°, or ‘the Word of God,’ 2%. Also the 
threefold expression 1° ‘ work of faith, and labour of love, and patience 
of hope’ (anticipation of 1 Cor 13"*), the threefold view of human nature, 
as ‘spirit and soul and body,’ 5*°. Observe, too, in this one of the 
earliest epistles of the Apostle, his use of the plural ‘we’ for the 
singular (see especially 31"). 







II THESSALONIANS 689 


Second Epistle to the Thessalonians 
Corinth, A.D. 53. 


480. Object of the Epistle.—This epistle was probably 
written, like the former, from Corinth, and not long after- 
wards; Silas and Timothy being still in Paul’s company 
{11). Its chief object was to correct an erroneous notion 
which had begun to prevail among the Christians at 
Thessalonica, that the appearance of the Saviour and the 
end of the world were at hand, as well as to protest against 
some practical misapplications of the belief. These had 
been grounded in part upon a misconstruction of expressions 
in the former epistle, as when he had written, ‘ We who are 
alive and remain,’ and appears to have been supported by 
some who laid claim to inspiration and even produced 
fictitious letters in the Apostle’s name. There were also 
_ persons who, on religious pretences, neglected their secular 
employments, and were guilty of disorderly conduct. 


481. Contents.—The commencement and conclusion of 
the epistle are’ occupied with affectionate commendations, 
mingled with encouragements to perseverance and exhorta- 
tions to holiness, beautifully introduced, so as to soften the 
apostolic reproofs ; followed by directions for the mainten- 
ance of discipline with regard to idle and disorderly members. 
In ch. 2112, Paul exposes the error of anticipating the near 
approach of the day of the Lord. Reminding the Thessa- 
lonian Christians of what he had said when he was with 
them, he tells them that he had spoken rather of the 
unexpectedness of the event than of its nearness, and that 
it must be preceded by ‘the apostasy,’ and by the temporary 
ascendancy of the ‘ man of sin,’ the spiritual usurper, who, 
after certain obstacles were removed, should establish 
a system of error and delusion by which many would 
be carried away. 

vy 


690 THE EPISTLES 


The arrangement of this, the shortest of the Pauline Epistles — 


(excepting the note to Philemon), is thus very simple. After the 
salutation, 12, are thanksgivings for the spiritual growth of the 
Thessalonians, and their patience under persecution, with words of 
encouragement and prayer, 1°'%. The way is thus opened for the 
warning and prophecy, with affectionate counsel, which constitute the 
main portion of the letter, 2'-35. The special injunctions that follow, 
impressively show how some persons had made the doctrine of the 
Parousia an excuse for sloth and disorderliness, 3°. It was requisite 
in conclusion, no doubt to guard the Thessalonians against being im- 
posed upon by forged letters, to notify to them that every epistle from 
Paul would be authenticated by his own signature. Then follows the 
characteristic benediction, 318. 


482, Special teachings of the Epistle.—These are connected with 
the peculiar phrases, nowhere else occurring in the Apostle’s writings: 
‘the man of sin,’ ‘the son of perdition,’ ‘the mystery of lawlessness,’ 
‘one that restraineth.’ ‘A full account of the interpretations of the 
difficult and important passage in which these expressions occur would 
here be out of place. But following Archbishop Alexander's exposi- 
tion* it may be said broadly, there have been four chief schools of 
interpretation :— 

1. By the Fathers generally it was held that the restraining power 
was the Roman Empire; that the ‘man of sin’ would be manifested 
after the fall of that empire, and that he would appear as Messiah in 
a rebuilt temple. 

2. In the Middle Ages it was brought into prominent notice that 
false teachers and usurping prelates were shadows and reflections of 
Antichrist, and that there were times in the history of the see of 
Rome when an Antichrist ruled as its head. z 

3. The older Protestant Reformers, e.g. Melanchthon, Jewel, Hooker, 
Andrewes, with the seventeenth-century Revisers in their Dedication 
of the Authorized Version, expressed strongly their conviction that 
in the system of the Papacy is an impressive application of the 
passage. On this see Bishop Wordsworth’s important note in his 
Edition of the Greek Testament. 

4. Later divines dwell more upon what, it may be presumed, is the 
historical groundwork of the passage as present to the mind of Paul. 
‘The reference to the predictions of Daniel (11°15), as partly fulfilled 
in Antiochus Epiphanes, is beyond doubt. The impious attempt of 
Caligula to have his statue placed in the Temple of Jerusalem (a. D. 40) 
was also present to the Apostle’s mind. From such historical cireum- 
stances he is led by inspiration to forecast some fuller development of 


® Speaker's Commentary on the epistle. 





I CORINTHIANS 691 


evil in the Church and the world, as the complete embodiment of - 
Daniel’s idea of Antiochus, and the consummated realization of the 
intentions of Caligula *.’ 

5. In the opinion of other expositors the explanation lies in the two 
great opposing tendencies—‘the antichristian, in the form of secular 
unbelief, and the political, in the form of the civil power.’ Anarchy 
will lead to an outburst of wickedness, and this will be brought to an 
end by the Lord’s coming. 

On the whole, we are not encouraged to conjecture the details of 
prophetic interpretation; but rather, as the greate1 lesson of the 
 epistle, to let the mysteries and glories of the future only lead on toa 
watchful and diligent discharge of present duty. The teaching corre- 
sponds with that of Christ Himself, Mt 244545 Lu 12‘, 


First Epistle to the Corinthians 


Ephesus, A.D. 57- 


483. Corinth: its Position and Character.—Corinth 
was a large city, the capital of the Roman province of 
Achaia, in the southern part of Greece. Its situation on 
the narrow isthmus between Peloponnesus (now called 
the Morea) and northern Greece gave it the command of the 
land traffic from north to south: whilst, by its two ports 
on the Ionian and Aigean Seas, Cenchrex and Lechzum, it 
received on the one hand the rich merchandise of Asia, 
and on the other that of Italy and the West. Possessing 
these advantages, Corinth became a place of very extensive 
commerce. It was also distinguished for its sumptuous 
public edifices, and for the cultivation of the elegant arts 
and of polite learning. The Isthmian games also (alluded 
to in ch. 974-2"), which were held near the city, had attained 
great celebrity, and attracted a vast concourse of strangers 
from all parts. From such causes, Corinth became remark- 


® An elaborate essay ‘On the Man of Sin,’ by Prof. B. Jowett (Episiles 
of St. Paul to Thessalonians, &c., vol. i. pp. 178-194), discusses the con- 
nexion of the Apostle’s prophecy with those of Ezekiel and Daniel. 


YY 2 


692 THE EPISTLES 





able for wealth and luxury; and equally so for profligacy 
and licentiousness, which were greatly fostered by the 
worship of Venus established there; so that it became 
ultimately the most corrupt and effeminate city in Greece. 


The Church in Corinth.—The first entrance of the Christian religion 
into this stronghold of vice is related in Ac 18. Paul was then on his 
way from Macedonia to Jerusalem. After passing some time at Athens, 
he came to © vinth ; and was there joined by Silas and Timothy, who 
brought reassuring news from Thessalonica. He preached the gospel 
in that city, first to the Jews ; but, when they ‘opposed themselves 
and blasphemed,’ he renounced all fellowship with them, and turned 
to the Greeks. Some, however, of the principal Jews believed. His 
fears and discouragements, while engaged in this work (see 2° Ac 18%"), 
were met by a special revelation, assuring him of the Lord’s presence 
with him, and of his purpose to collect a chureh there. Paul con- 
tinued his labours at Corinth more than a year and a half: and they 
were afterwards followed up by the teaching of Apollos, Ac 18%7-2*, 
Thus a numerous and flourishing church was formed ; teachers were 
set over them ; and the ordinances of Christ were regularly observed. 

It appears, however that, ere long, their peace was disturbed by 
certain would-be teachers, who sought to engraft on the doctrines of 
Christ the refinements of human philosophy. These persons attempted 
to depreciate the Apostle, contrasting him, it may be, with the eloquent 
Apollos, representing him as deficient in the graces of style and the 
arts of oratory, and even calling in question his apostolic authority in 
comparison with that of Peter: they also pleaded for a licentious 
manner of life, under pretence of Christian liberty. Hence arose 
divisions and irregularities ; and the church was fast declining from 
its original faith, purity, and love. 


484. Time and place of writing.—This epistle was 
written from Ephesus, after Paul had been for some time 
absent from Corinth, and had started on his third missionary 
journey, with the intention of revisiting the city (4 11°* 16°) 
—a purpose which he eventually carried out, although after 
a delay which he subsequently explains (2 Cor 2'). We 
learn from Ac 20! * that Paul did revisit Achaia, and doubt- 
less Corinth, going thither from Ephesus, after having spent 
two years in that city. An intermediate visit, otherwise 
unrecorded, has been inferred from 2 Cor 12" 131, but many 


SPECIAL FEATURES OF I CORINTHIANS 693 


expositors understand these passages as referring to intention 
only. See also 2 Cor 2! 12!, That this epistle was written 
during the ‘two years’ is further confirmed by various 
incidental references. See 1597168; and 16° compared with 
Ac 197°! also the salutation from the churches of Asia in 
16°; and, further, the salutation from Priscilla and Aquila, 
who were at Ephesus at that time, Ac 187°. Although known 
as the first epistle it had evidently been preceded by 
another, which has not been preserved, but to which 
reference is made in 5° (see R. V.)®, This earlier letter was 
either crossed or followed by one from the Corinthians to 
Paul> (see 7’), requesting his advice and instruction on 
some points. In replying to this communication, the Apostle 
takes occasion to correct some disorders prevailing among 
them, of which he had heard from some of their members 
_(z!! 5! r118), which had occasioned him deep concern, and led 
him to send Timothy to Corinth (417 Ac 1972). 


Special questions considered.—The evils which Paul sought to 
correct among the Corinthians related to the following subjects :— 

Party-divisions (110-16 34-6), A fondness for so-called philosophy ° 
and eloquence (117 *), Notorious immorality was tolerated amongst 
them (5). Law-suits were carried on by one against another before 
heathen judges, contrary to the rules of Christian wisdom and love, 
and sometimes even to the principles of justice (61). Licentious 
indulgence (6°29), In their religious assemblies, the female 
members of the church, in the exercise of their spiritual gifts, had 
manifested an unfeminine deportment, laying aside the veil, the 
distinguishing mark of their sex (11°!°). The Lord’s Supper had 
been perverted by the manner in which it was celebrated (1179-4) ; 
some having made it an occasion of joviality, and a source of 
humiliation to their poorer brethren (verses 20, 21). Spiritual gifts, 


® Some have thought, not improbably, that the passage in 2 Cor 614- 
7‘ retains a paragraph of this former letter, inserted there by some 
transposition, and certainly disconnected from the context in which it 
is now found. 

b Mr. Lewin, in his Life and Epistles of St. Paul, has ingeniously 
endeavoured to reproduce this letter from the Apostle’s replies, vol. i, 
p- 366, 


694 THE EPISTLES 


especially the gift of tongues, had been misused (14). And the momen- 
tous doctrine of the Resurrection had been denied or questioned (15"). 

The matters upon which the Corinthians had requested Paul's 
instructions are, 1. Marriage, and the duties in regard to it in their 
circumstances (7); 2. the effect which their conversion to Christianity 
produced upon a prior state of circumcision or of slavery (7'7-™*); and 
3. their duty with reference to eating things offered in sacrifice to 
idols (8). They had, probably, also addressed some questions to him 
respecting the employment of spiritual gifts, and the order to be 
observed in their religious assemblies. They appear, in addition, to- 
have asked for some instructions respecting the collection for the 
poor at Jerusalem, as requested in Paul's former letter. All these 
points are met by the Apostle; and in discussing them he instruc- 
tively shows how the highest principles may be applied to all the 
details of personal or of church life. 


485. Place of this Epistle in the series._In no epistle does 
Paul's own character appear more illustrious than in this. The asser- 
tion of his apostolic authority is beautifully blended with humility and 
godly jealousy of himself (2° 927). Means of influence he diligently 
employs, while acknowledging his entire dependence upon God (3°* 
151°). Fidelity he combines with the utmost tenderness (g* 6 4") ; 
and whatever be his gifts, he prefers love to them all (13). Herein 
he is a pattern not only to ministers, but to all Christians. 

The Epistles to the Corinthians are peculiarly instructive from their 
combining, in the most striking way, the utterances of a liberal manly 
spirit with doctrines the most humbling. They cherish the loftiest 
hopes for man, and for truth, and tell us how alone these hopes may 
be fulfilled. To the churches of all time they convey, throughout the 
discussion of the most varied topics, the great lessons of unity and 
charity. 


The two letters to the Corinthians, more than any other, 
throw light on the state of the early Church, and on the 
evil tendencies with which the gospel had to struggle even 
among good men. They are ‘the first chapter in Ecclesiastical 
History.’ ‘While the Epistle to the Galatians was the foun- 
dation of Christian Dogma, the two Epistles to the Corinthians, 
signalizing as they do the emancipation of the regenerate 
conscience, are the beginning of Christian Ethics *.’ 


* Sabatier, The Apostle Paul, book iii, ch. 3, p. 162. 


II CORINTHIANS 695 


Second Epistle to the Corinthians 


Macedonia, A.D. 57. 


486. Occasion of the Epistle.—Not very long after 
writing the former epistle, Paul left Ephesus, and went to 
Troas. Here he expected to meet Titus (whom he had sent 


to Corinth); and to receive from him intelligence of the 


state of the church, and of the effects of his former epistle 
(24). But, not finding him there, he crossed over to 
Macedonia, where his anxiety was relieved by the arrival 
and report of Titus. From him Paul learned that his faithful 
reproofs had awakened in the minds of the Corinthian 
Christians a godly sorrow, and a practical regard for the 
proper discipline of the church. But, with these pleasing 
symptoms, there were others of a painful kind. The faction 
connected with the false teachers was still depreciating his 
apostolic authority, and misrepresenting his motives and 
conduct ; even using his former letter to bring new charges 
against him, as haying failed to keep his promise of coming 
to see them, and having adopted an authoritative style of 
writing, little in unison, as they alleged, with the con- 
temptibleness of his person and speech. 

The so-called painful letter.—It has been maintained by some 
expositors that the expressions by which Paul describes a letter of his 
to the Corinthians (2 Cor 2* 7°) are too strong to be applied to any- 
thing in the first epistle. Hence the hypothesis of an ‘Intermediate 
letter,’ supposed by some to have been inserted by mistake in 2 Cor 
to!-13!, There does not, however, seem any adequate reason against 
applying the Apostle’s description to part of 1 Cor, especially to 
chs. 3-6. See Canon Bernard, Introduction to 2 Cor in the Expositor’s 
Greek Testament. 


Under the strong and mingled emotions caused by the 
report of Titus, the Apostle wrote this second epistle, some 
authorities think at Philippi, as stated in note at end of the 
epistle in A. V., but that cannot be determined. From the 





696 THE EPISTLES 


epistle itself it seems Paul had visited most of the churches 
of Macedonia (8' 9’): and he was more probably leaving 
Macedonia for Greece than entering it from Asia. Hence 
the supposition of other expositors—that the epistle was 
written at Thessalonica, at a time when Timothy had 
rejoined him (1!). Titus, accompanied by two other brethren, 
‘messengers of the church,’ was the bearer of the epistle to 
Corinth. It was designed to carry forward the work of 
reformation, to establish still further his authority against 
the objections and pretensions of false teachers, and to 
prepare the Corinthians for his intended visit, when he 
desired to find their disorders rectified, and their promised 
contributions for their afflicted brethren ready (8% 9° 102-42 
1312-20), 


487. Contents and general letters.—Although this and the pre- 
ceding epistle are full of references to the peculiar circumstances of 
the Corinthian church, they are not the less important or instructive 
on that account. Principles and rules are laid down which are of 
general application, especially in opposing dissensions and other evils 
arising in the Church, and in promoting the important duty of 
Christian liberality. 

The principal contents of this Epistle are as follows :— 

1. The Apostle, after expressing his gratitude for the Divine conso- 
lation granted to him under his sufferings for Christ, states the reasons 
of his delay in visiting Corinth : and refers to the case of the guilty 
person upon whom discipline had been exercised ; whom, being peni- 
tent, he exhorts them to restore to their communion (11? 2"), 

2. He refers to his labours in the service of the gospel and their 
success, and to his own relation to the Corinthians ; and is thereby 
led to speak of the differences between the ministry under the Old 
Covenant and under the New; showing the superior glory of the 
latter (21*-3'*), He describes the principles and motives by which he 
and his brethren were actuated in fulfilling their ministry in the 
midst of great trials and afflictions ; and exhorts the Corinthians not 
to frustrate the great objects of the gospel, enforcing the entreaty by 
affecting personal appeals of Christian discipline and purity (4-7). 

3. Then, resuming a subject referred to in his former epistle, with 
persuasive earnestness he recomniends to them the collection for the 
poor among the saints at Jerusalem; and shows the manifold 
advantages of such services (8, 9). 


II CORINTHIANS 697 


4. He now proceeds, although with evident reluctance, to vindicate 
his apostolic authority against the insinuations of false teachers; con- 
trasting his own gifts, labours, and sufferings, with the character and 
conduct of those pretenders who opposed him (ro, 11) : referring, in 
proof of the Divine approval, to some extraordinary visions and reve- 
lations with which he had been favoured (1211) : and showing the 
openness, sincerity, and disinterestedness of his whole conduct. This 
part of the epistle has appropriately been called Paul’s Apologia 
pro vila sua. Nowhere, indeed, has his very heart been more ingenu- 

ously and touchingly laid bare. Then, after a few affectionate admo- 
_ nitions to self-examination, and to love and holiness, he closes the 
epistle with prayer and benediction (121!-”1 13). 

lt may be noticed that the troubles at Ephesus (Ac 1975) had 
occurred between the writing of the two epistles*. The memory of 
danger and the sense of a great deliverance give a peculiar intensity 
and pathos to the Apostle’s words, 171°. 


What effect was produced by this epistle, we have no 
means of ascertaining. We only know that Paul speedily 
followed it up, and that during the visit to Corinth which 
ensued he wrote the Epistle to the Romans. 


488. Key-words and peculiar expressions.—These have been 
thus effectively summarized by Dean Farrar”: ‘ ‘‘ Tribulation ” is the 
one predominant word, and “consolation under tribulation” the one 
predominant topic of the first great section. These two words, though 
unfortunately varied by synonyms in the English version, oceur again 
and again inextricably intertwined in the first chapter, verses 3, 4. 
This incessant recurrence of the same words—now ‘‘ tribulation,” now 
“consolation,” now ‘ boasting,” now ‘‘ weakness,’ now ‘‘ simplicity, 
now “manifest” and ‘“‘manifestation,” now *‘ folly”—are characteristic 
of the extreme emotion of mind in which the letter was written.’ 
Peculiar to this epistle are the following words and phrases :—‘ veil,’ 
and ‘to unveil,’ 31%1415.1618 > «tabernacle,’ 54; ‘to be clothed upon,’ 
54; ‘to be absent’ and ‘to be present’ (‘to be at home,’ R. V.), 
5°89; ‘to supply’ (‘to fill up the measure of,’ R. V.), 9!# 11°; ‘ without 
or beyond measure,’ 101"! ; ‘to be chargeable to,’ ‘to be a burden to,’ 
11° 125-14. Note that it is in this epistle that the words of the apostolic 
benediction in their completest form first appear, 13. 


The reference in 1 Cor 15°* cannot have been, as some have un- 
thinkingly assumed, to this particular event. 
® Messages of the Books, p. 232 (1884). 


698 THE EPISTLES 


Epistle to the Galatians 


Ephesus or Macedonia, a.v. 57 or 58. 


489. Galatia: references in the Acts and Epistles.— 
The epistle is addressed to the ‘churches of Galatia’ (12), 
a phrase occurring again in 1 Cor 16. The name Galatia is 
found also in 1 Pet 1! and (with a various reading Gaul) 
2 Tim 41° Paul addresses his readers as ‘Galatians’ (3'). 
In the Acts neither substantive occurs, but during his 
SECOND missionary journey Paul visits the ‘region of Phrygia 
and Galatia’ (Ac 16° R.V., rv ®pvyiav cai Tadarixiyy xopay), 
and on his ruirp ‘the region of Galatia and Phrygia’ (18% 
R. V., tiv Tadariciy xopav xai Ppvyiar). 

These terms have been commonly interpreted of the 
geographical Galatia, a strip of country in the north of Asia 
Minor occupied by the Celts (Celtee = Galatz = Galli) about 
B.C. 280, subdued by the Romans under Manlius B. c. 189, 
and incorporated into the Roman province of Galatia B.c. 25. 
The three chief cities, originally assigned to the three invad- 
ing tribes, were Tavium, Pessinus, and Ancyra. No details 
of the visit are given in the Acts, and a glance at the map 
will show the long detour, northwards and eastwards, thus 
recorded by Luke in a single sentence (Ac 16°). This north 
Galatian theory is, however, the traditional view, and claims 
the great authority of Bishop Lightfoot, though there is 
force in Professor Ramsay’s contention that if the bishop 
had possessed the information which modern research has 
made available he would have changed his opinion. 


The south Galatian theory.—Within recent years, and mainly 
through the brilliant advocacy of Professor Ramsay, a very different 
view has gained wide acceptance. It is contended that the Galatia 
of the New Testament writings is not a geographical but a political 
term, the great Roman province extending from Pontus in the north 
to the range of the Taurus; and that Paul, the Roman citizen, sums 


GALATIANS 699 


up under this title ‘churches of Galatia’ the churchesfounded by him 
on his FIRST missionary journey, at Antioch of Pisidia, Ieconium, Lystra, 
and Derbe (Ac 1314-144). These churches are revisited on the second 
journey (16%, verse 6 being rather a summary of verses 1-5 than 
a record of new work in a distant and difficult region) and on the 
third (18%). Thus we have no gap in Luke’s narrative, and no depar- 
ture from Paul’s policy of founding churches along the great lines of 
communication throughout the Roman Empire. For details of the 
argument and the bearing of the theory on the interpretation of the 
-epistle the reader must be referred to Professor Ramsay’s The Church 
in the Roman Empire, Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen, and his articles 
in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: also to the most recent commentary 
on Galatians in the Lxpositor’s Greek Testament, by Mr. Rendall, who 
warmly espouses the south Galatian view. 


490. Occasion and tenor of the Epistle.—It is generally 
agreed, from the expression in 4’ ‘I preached the gospel 
unto you the former time,’ that the epistle was preceded by 
two visits to Galatia. On the former of these visits Paul 
had been a great sufferer, Gal 41°"), and had been welcomed 
and kindly treated by the warm-hearted Galatians, but in or 
after the second the Apostle learned that the once zealous 
converts were ‘ quickly removing’ (R. Y.) to ‘another gospel,’ 
being fascinated by some form of Jewish ceremonialism. 
Hence this letter of earnest and impassioned remonstrance. 
It is the only one of Paul’s epistles which opens without any 
words of praise and congratulations. ‘I wonder,’ is the 
Apostle’s cry. Yet the affectionateness of the letter is fully 
equal to its vehemence. In the words of Prof. Sabatier: 
‘There is nothing in ancient or modern language to be com- 
pared with this epistle. All the powers of Paul’s soul 
shine forth in its few pages. Broad and luminous view, 
keen logic, biting irony, everything that is most forcible 
in argument, vehement in indignation, ardent and tender 
in affection, is found here, combined and poured forth in 
a single stream, forming a work of irresistible power.’ 

Besides the proselytizing endeavours of the Judaizing 
teachers, there were also attempts to undermine Paul’s 






% a 


700 THE EPISTLES 


authority. It was insinuated that he was inferior to Peter 
and the other Apostles at Jerusalem, from whom these 
perverters of the truth professed to have derived their views 
and credentials. To settle these important matters, in 
which the Apostle evidently considered that the very life 
and soul of Christianity were at stake, he wrote this epistle 
with his own hand (61’) (or, perhaps, part of it, in large 
bold characters), contrary to his usual practice of dictating 
his letters. 


On the north Galatian theory the two previous visits are those of the 
second and third journeys, and the epistle falls within the later part 
of the third journey, dating probably from the latter period of the 
Apostle’s stay at Ephesus, or from some part of his tour in Macedonia 
(Ac 20?) on his way to Corinth, where he wrote the Epistle to the 
Romans. It is in fact an outline, or preliminary rough draft, of the 
argument in that great epistle; while in its vindication of his own 
apostolic authority it resembles part of 2 Corinthians. Between these 
two epistles, therefore, it may probably be placed. (So Lightfoot.) 
This chronological arrangement fully accords with the word soon (or 
‘quickly,’ R.V.), 1°. If, however, the south Galatian theory be accepted, 
the two visits are those of the first and second journeys, and the letter 
comes before the visit recorded Ac 18*°, Prof. Ramsay, impressed by 
Lightfoot’s argument as to the affinity of thought with the Corinthian 
and Roman epistles, and so desiring to place Galatians as late as 
possible, dates it from Antioch (Ac 18**), immediately before the third 
journey. Mr. Rendall, on the other hand, finds traces of early date in 
the epistle itself, and places it during the second journey, probably at 
Corinth before Paul was rejoined by Silas and Timothy, whose names 
are joined with the Apostle’s in 1 and 2 Thess., but not in Galatians. 
On this view the present epistle would be the earliest of Paul’s letters. 


491. Contents of the Epistle.—1. After his usual salutation, Pau! 
asserts his full and independent authority as an Apostle of Christ : 
he relates the history of his conversion and introduction into the 
ministry ; showing that he had received his knowledge of Christian 
truth, not by any human teaching, but by immediate revelation ; and 
that the other Apostles had recognized his Divine commission, and 
treated him as their equal (1, 2). 

2. To show that men are accepted of God by faith alone, and not by 
the rites and ceremonies of the Law, he appeals to the experience of 
the Galatiams since their conversion to Christianity, and to the case 


GALATIANS 701 


of Abraham, who had been justified and saved by faith, and shows 
that the design of the Law was not to supersede the Divine cove- 
nant of promise previously made, but to prepare the way, and to 
exhibit the necessity for the gospel (3). He contrasts the pupilage 
and subjection of the people of God under the Law, and their happier 
condition under the gospel, as, by the redemption of the Son of God, 
they become possessed of the privileges and blessings of sonship: and 
addressing that portion of the Galatians who had been heathen, he 
reminds them that, having been rescued from the far more degrading 
bondage of idolatry, it was especially deplorable that they should fall 


‘back into the slavery of superstition (44-4). He tenderly appeals to 


them as his spiritual children, reminding them of their former 
attachment to him : and then, addressing those who relied upon the 
Law and the letter of the Old Testament, shows them that the history 
of Abraham's two sons afforded an emphatic illustration of the 
relative position and spirit of the two contending parties,—the 
rejection of the one, and the blessedness of the other (411-1), 

3. He exhorts believers to stand firm in their Christian liberty, but 
not to abuse it ; shows them that holiness of heart and life is secured 
under the gospel by the authority of Christ and the grace of the Holy 
Spirit (5); and enjoins upon them mutual forbearance, tenderness, 


_ love, and liberality : and, after again condemning the doctrine of the 


false teachers, closes his epistle with a declaration which may be 
regarded as the sum of the whole (6). 


It is urged in favour of the traditional destination of the 
epistle that the persons to whom it was addressed were 
Gauls (whose name in Greek is Galatians), both in name 
and in character®. They manifest all the susceptibility of 
impression and fondness for change which authors from 
Cxsar to Thierry have ascribed to that race. They were 
ever in extremes, first receiving the Apostle as an angel, 
and ready to pluck out their eyes and give them to him ; 
but ‘soon removing’ by false teachers ‘to another gospel,’ 
and then under the influence of the same ardour beginning 
to ‘bite and devour one another.’ On the other hand, 
Mr. Rendall contends that this fickleness ‘belonged as cer- 
tainly to the populace of the southern cities.’ 


“ See Lightfoot, ‘On the Galatian People,’ chap. i of Introduction to 
Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. 


702 THE EPISTLES 





492. Key-words and peculiar expressions.—‘ Law,’ in a compre- 
hensive sense, including the moral and the ceremonial, oceurs about 
thirty-one times. ‘ Liberty,’ 2* 38 425! 51-13. ‘ Flesh,’ about eighteen 
times. ‘Spirit,’ about fifteen times. ‘ Faith,’ twenty-two times. ‘To 
justify,’ ‘to be justified,’ 2'*!7 3%1’-24 58 * Bondage’ and ‘to be in 
bondage,’ 4°-*-*-24-26 61-18. “The promise,’ about ten times. ‘ The cross,’ 
5 6'%, <Pillars’ (of the Church), 2°. ‘ Beggarly elements’ (‘rudi- 
ments,’ R. V.), 4°. ‘The marks (o7iypara) of Jesus,’ 6"7. The references 
to Arabia, 117 45, and to Hagar, 4%*-*5, as types. In regard to the difficult 
passage 3° see Bishop Lightfoot *, and on ‘James, the Lord’s brother,’ see 
Introduction to the Epistle of James ; also Lightfoot, ‘On the Brethren 
of the Lord,’ Dissertations, pp. 241 sq. 


Epistle to the Romans 


Corinth, a.D. 58. 


493. Jewish and Christian Communities in Rome,— 
The Epistle to the Romans was addressed to the Christians 
in the metropolis of that great empire, whose dominion then 
extended over almost the whole known world. 

The way had been prepared by Divine Providence for the 
introduction of the gospel into Rome by the extensive 
settlement of Jews there. That the establishment of the 
Jewish worship at Rome had produced considerable effect 
on the general community, is clear from the statements of 
heathen writers. Ovid speaks of the synagogues as places 
of general resort: and, still later, Juvenal ridicules his 
countrymen for becoming Jews. 

At what time or by whom the gospel was first preached 


* In substance, the explanation is that the ‘ mediator’ spoken of is 
Moses : that the Law as given through him was of the nature of a con- 
tract between two parties, God and the Jewish people—valid, there- 
fore, only as long as both parties fulfil its terms, therefore contingent 
and not absolute ; ‘ but God,’ the Giver of the Promise, ‘is One.’ Unlike 
the Law, therefore, the Promise is absolute and unconditional. 

> Ovid, Ars Amat., i. 76; Juv. Sat. xiv. 96sq. See Merivale, Romans 
under the Empire, chs. liv, |xii. 


ROMANS 703 


in the imperial city is unknown. That it was at an early 
period may be inferred from the circumstance that, when 
Paul wrote this epistle, the faith of the Roman Christians 
‘was spoken of throughout the whole world,’ 1% It is 
probable that some of those ‘strangers of Rome, Jews and 
proselytes,’ who were present at Jerusalem on the great Day 
of Pentecost (Ac 21°), carried back to that city the knowledge 
of the gospel. And it is not improbable, also, considering 
the constant intercourse between Rome and the provinces, 
that some of the numerous converts to Christianity in 
Juda, Asia Minor, and Greece, might soon have found 
their way to the capital. This would explain the wide 
range of the salutations in ch. 16 ; although another explana- 
tion has been given, as noted below. 

The traditions of some of the ancient Fathers, that Peter was the 


founder of the church at Rome, appears plainly inconsistent with the 
evidence derived from this epistle, as well as from the Book of Acts, 


__ which shows him to have been at Jerusalem at the very time when he 


is alleged to have been at Rome. In this whole epistle thore is no 
mention of Peter as ever haying been at Rome. Now, if Peter had 
not only been there, but had actually founded the church, and had 
presided over it, it is impossible to suppose that Paul could have failed 
to advert to that fact. And, further, had Peter been at Rome when 
Paul wrote this epistle, he would certainly have been included in the 
particular enumeration of persons to whom salutations are sent, in 
ch, 16. 


494. The Date of this Epistle is very precisely fixed by 
the following facts. Paul had not yet been to Rome 
(z14-15-15), He was intending to visit it, after first visiting 
Jerusalem (15?°~*5), and this was his purpose during his 
three months’ residence at Corinth, Ac 1974. He was 
about to carry a collection from Macedonia and Achaia to 
Jerusalem (157°-*1): and this he did carry from Corinth 
to Jerusalem at the close of his visit, Ac 241’. When he 
wrote the epistle, Timothy, Sosipater, Gaius, and Erastus 
were with him (1671-23), Gaius was his host, and resided at 


704 THE EPISTLES 


Corinth, 1 Cor 1", Erastus was himself a Corinthian, and 
had been sent shortly before from Ephesus with Timothy 


on their way through Corinth to Macedonia, Ae 19% 1 Cor 


16'.'1; and the first .three are expressly mentioned in 
Acts 201 as being with Paul at Corinth. Phaebe, moreover, 
generally supposed to have been the bearer of the epistle, 


was a member of the church at the Corinthian port of } 


Cenchrew (161). As Paul, therefore, was preparing to visit 
Jerusalem, one of his converts was also departing from 
Corinth in an opposite direction for Rome, and by her this 
epistle was taken to that city. Its date is thus fixed, 
A.D. 58. 


The constitution of the Roman church when the Apostle wrote, 


whether consisting mainly of Jews or Gentiles, has been keenly — 















_ 


discussed. That the majority of the Christians in Rome were of — 


Gentile origin is the view of Conybeare and Howson, Tholuck, Alford, 
S. Davidson, Godet ; that the Jews outnumbered them is maintained 
by Neander, Meyer, Baur, Sabatier. An intermediate position adopted 
by Jowett, Farrar, Sanday, and others is that the Christian community 
in Rome may possibly have predominantly included Jewish Christians 
in belief, yet at the same time Gentiles in origin—Jewish, for the 
Apostle everywhere argues with them as Jews; Gentiles, for he 


expressly addresses them as Gentiles. Cf. 2"? 41° 7 16’, &c., with — 


ps5 rn 1415, &e, 


To such converts it was especially important that they 
should have a full and inspired exhibition of Divine truth, 
especially to strengthen them against the Judaizers whose 
influence had been so disturbing in the churches of Galatia 
and at Corinth. The doctrine of justification by faith had 
been employed to justify immoral practices (3°), and more- 
over dissensions had sprung up between Jewish converts 
and Gentile Christians (1117-18 14). The Jewish believer was 
unwilling to regard his uncircumcised Gentile brother as his 
equal in Christ’s kingdom (3° 15° ''); and, on the other 
hand, the more enlightened Gentile convert was inclined to 
treat the lingering scruples of the Jew with contempt (14°). 


F 
. 


, 





ROMANS 705 


Here, therefore, the doctrine of justification is shown to pro- 
duce holiness. To the Jewish Christian, truth and its claims 
are revealed; to the Gentile Christian, Jove and its claims ; and 
both are taught that faith in Christ and subjection to Him 
are the only conditions of a place in the Church and of an 
interest in the covenant. In the whole of this discussion 
principles are laid down of the greatest value to the Church 
in every age. 

495. Contents of the Epistle.—As the Epistle to the 
Romans treats of the doctrine which has been regarded as 
the test of a true church, and is moreover the most full and 
systematic of all the Apostle’s writings, we append a full 
analysis, showing the course of argument and illustration. 
The significance of particular passages depends in a great 
degree, as will be readily seen, on their connexion. 


I. Inrropucrion (1171), 


1. The salutation (11-7). 

2. Introduction, and Paul’s estimate of the gospel (“1”). 

The sixteenth verse contains in brief the subject of the whole epistle. 
The gospel is—(1) the power of God unto salvation, (2) to every one 
that believeth ; (3) to the Jew first, and also (4) to the Greek. 


II. Docrrinat Exposition (18—8**), 


(a) Sinfulness of the human race. 
1. Condition of the Gentiles— 
In relation to God (178-*S), 
In relation to human duty (24%), 
2. Condition of the Jews— 
Mere knowledge will not save (2!"). 
Tt even aggravates guilt (12-29). 
3. Comparison of Jews and Gentiles— 
Value of Old Testament dispensation not lowered (31-°). 
Both guilty, and needing salvation (*-*°). 
(0) The gospel plan of salvation explained, in itself, and in its results. 
1. This plan explained, a revelation of Divine justice and merey— 
Exeludes all boasting (327), and— 
Saves all on the same terms (?!~*4). 
2. Holy men of old justified by faith— 
Illustrated, Abraham (4'~>): David (°°). 


ZZ 






706 THE EPISTLES 


} 

Circumcision the sign (*~"*), and the theoeracy the result ("=") 
of the covenant: the result, therefore, of justification, rather 
than subservient to it. 

3. Abraham’s faith described. Its results (41*-*), 
4. The fruits of faith in Christian experience, in imparting peace, — 
joy, and hope (5'~"*). | 
5. The excellence of faith shown by a comparison between Adam, 
the head of the fallen race, and Christ, the Author of spiritual life, to — 
all who are united to Him (5!2-**), 
(c) This way of salvation (xapis, dieacocdvn) favourable to holiness. 
(See 3°.) . 

“1. We cannot go on in sin, that grace may abound ; for we are one 
with Christ our Head, in His baptism, death, and life (6'"*); verses — 
12-14 illustrating the idea that Christ is our King, as well as Head. 

2. Nor can we go on in sin, because under grace and not under law. 

For the servants of another are bound to obey their master, and 
moreover— 

Men are increasingly swayed by that authority, which they : 
heartily acknowledge. It becomes a yoke, which, however, — 
if it be righteousness, is free, and has a glorious issue (6"°-*°), — 

3. The same truth illustrated, as in 6?, by an example founded on 
the Law (7!-*). 

4. Hence a twofold objection : 

(i) Either the Law is sin— : 

No; for it reveals sin, and impresses it on the conscience 
(7712) : 

(ii) Or being itself good, it has become death (7!°-*5). 

No; for we (‘our inner man’) admit it to be spiritual, even 
when not obeying it; the paradox of the awakened and 
regenerate conscience. 

Both facts meet the objection, and show our need of a new system. 

(a) The Law having failed to justify and sanctify, Christ for us and Christ 
in us is our justification and holiness. 

1. The Christian justified in Christ and sanctified in Him, through 
the Spirit ; which sanctification will be complete (8'“?). 

2. The Christian’s duty and privilege (8!7-1%), __ 

3. The connexion between the perfection of creation, and that of the 
children of God (8'8*°), 

4. Exultant assurance of salvation (8°!—**), 


III. Sprcrat RELATION OF THE JEWS TO THE GosPEL (9-11). 


As in 1'8-3% the Apostle has explained the relation of Jews and 
Gentiles to the Law, so in 9'-11% he explains the relation of both to the 


gospel. 


CONTENTS OF ROMANS 707 


That salvation is by Christ, and for all that believe, is the con- 
clusion to which the Apostle has come ; but if so, the great majority 
of the Jews perish, and the Gentiles have taken their place ; a result 
apparently severe, and to the Jew particularly startling. The Apostle 
meets this feeling. 

t. He affirms his own distress at their state of rejection (9!~). 

2. It cannot be said, however, that the promise is unfulfilled, or 
that this difference of treatment is without precedent ; for— 

The promise did not extend to all the children of Abraham, but 
only to the descendants of Sarah; nor to all her descendants, but only 
to Isaac (g’-®), and of Isaac’s children, to Jacob (91°15), the ground of 
the difference being, not the actual merit of the persons, but the election 
of God. 

Least of all does it follow that God is unjust, for all mercy on God’s 
part is evidence of kindness, and is altogether undeserved. 

That God has a right to make distinctions in His dealings, and does 
make them, is further shown in the case of Pharaoh (9!4—18), 

y 3- But does not this idea of purpose on God’s part free us from 
blame? No, for first God has a right to do as He will; and in the 
exercise of that right, there can be no wrong; and secondly, in 
exercising that will, both the justice and the mercy of God will be 
the more illustriously revealed (9!°—*4), saving all on the same condi- 


‘tions, both Jews and Gentiles. 





4. Both this call of the Gentiles, and the salvation of a remnant 
only of the Jews, are foretold, or have their precedents in the Old 
Testament (92-9), 

5. The failure and rejection of the Jews, though in one sense in ac- 
cordance withthe Divine purpose, are really results of unbelief (9°°—*5), 

This last thought is expanded (10). After again expressing his 
distress at the unbelief of the Jews, the Apostle shows that their 
rejection is the result of unbelief; and that all who call on the name 
of the Lord, Jews or Gentiles, shall be saved (10418), 

Objected, that the Jews could not call upon one of whom they had 
not heard (104-7), Answer, they have heard, so that their rejection ot 
truth was not owing to ignorance, but to disobedient unbelief; as 
foretold by their own prophets (101871), 

6. It must not be supposed that Israel, as a whole, have been 
rejected. 

Not Jews as Jews, but Jews as unbelievers; for ‘I myself,’ says he, 
‘am an Israelite’ (111). In Elijah’s days there were thousands who 
had not bowed to Baal, so now there is a remnant according to the 
election of grace, chosen not for their works, but from free favour ; 
while the rest have missed the blessing through unbelief (1177), 

Nor, speaking of the Jews as a nation, is there utter rejection : 


ZZ 2 


708 THE EPISTLES ; 








the Gentiles, and their conversion will be connected with the geners 
diffusion of the truth (111), of all which the faith of their fathers is 
a kind of earnest (11'°). 

7. Humility, faith, adoring reverence of the justice and mercy of 
God, with hope in this general issue, become all Gentile convert: 
(1117-4), and— 

8. By and by Israel, as a whole, shall be converted to God (1175-52). 

9. The whole scheme of salvation an evidence of the unfathomable - 
wisdom and love of God (11°°-**), to Whose praise all will ultimately 
redound. 


IV. Erntcat Deveropmenr or TrutH (12-1517), 


(a) In relation to general behaviour. 

1. All previous doctrine points to consecration of the whole life as 
the appropriate result, and with this consecration all holiness begins 
(121), 

This founded in humility, i.e. in a true and healthy view of our- 
selves, and of our position (12°). 

This consecration will include— 

2. The Christian's relation to the Church (12**), including love, 
faith, and hope ; and— 

3. The Christian’s relation to the world (1214-2), 

4. Ch.13. Especially is this spirit of consecration seen in submission 
to the ruling power, which has the force of a Divine law (-*),— 
Obedience in such cases is another form of the great law of love (8°), 
which is especially incumbent under the gospel, as is all spiritual 
holiness (1)“*), 

(b) In relation to our behaviour in things indifferent (141-15"). 

Here, forbearance is our rule. He who regards things indifferent as 
binding may be the weaker Christian, but God has received him ; he 
does all to Christ, Who is his judge; and in accordance with his own 
conscience, which is, subordinately, his law. 

Therefore, neither is he the less welcome, nor is he to be tempted 
by ridicule or rebuke to violate what he himself believes (142-*5). 

The example of Christ, and the ultimate design of the Scriptures, 
teach this duty on even more comprehensive ne common 
good (15'~"). 

The lesson is repeated, that Gentiles and Jews are one body, and 
that the salvation of each illustrates the faithfulness and mercy of 
God (158). 





CONTENTS OF ROMANS 709 


V. PersonaL CoMMUNICATIONS. 


1. Explanation of the Apostle’s relation to the Gentiles and of his 
earnestness on their behalf (1514-*4). 

2. Notice of his proposed journeys (1572-8). 

3. Salutations (16!~°5), with cautions in reference to such as caused 
divisions (?7—?°). 

4. Conclusion (1674-27), 

The interesting series of salutations, twenty-six in all, in the last 
chapter, addressed to a community personally unknown to the Apostle, 
has presented a difficulty to expositors which has been variously met. 


_ Certain variations, and the absence from some early copies of the text of 


the last two chapters, have led to the supposition that the epistle 
‘was circulated at an early date in two forms, both with and without 


_ the last two chapters. In the shorter form it was divested as far as 


AS 


possible of its epistolary character by abstracting the personal matter 
addressed especially to the Romans’ (Bp. Lightfoot). Or early copies 
of the epistle may have been sent with varying terminations to different 


4 churches, one being the church at Ephesus, as the salutations (16!—?°) 


are addressed to persons whom one would expect to find rather there 
than in Rome (e. g. verse 3 Aquila and Priscilla, verse 5 Epzenetus) ; 


-so in other districts where the Apostle had resided and laboured, 


verses 9, 13. There seem in fact to be at least two distinet endings 
to the epistle, one beginning 15°°, the other 1617, There are two (or 


_ three) closing benedictions, 15°° 1674, but according to the best 


texts one of them is to be omitted. R.V. omits 1674. See papers by 
Bp. Lightfoot and Dr. Hort in Biblical Essays. 


496. Key-words and expressions.— LEApiInc TuHoucur. ‘The 
gospel of Christ: the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
believeth. . . . Therein is revealed a righteousness of God by faith 
unto faith, i.e. which begins in faith and ends in faith, of which 
faith is the beginning, the middle, the end’ (11617 R.V.). ‘The 
righteous shall live by faith’ (117), a motto from Habakkuk 2*. ‘The 
righteousness of God,’ 3°? 10°, &. Though there is much greater 
consistency in the rendering of the same word in the R. V. than in 
the A. V., it should be noted that ‘righteous,’ ‘righteousness,’ ‘just,’ 
‘justified,’ ‘justification’ are from the same root-word. So are the two 
words ‘faith’ and ‘believe,’ forms of which occur about fifty-seven 
times. Observe the frequency of the use of the word ‘law’ with and 
without the article. Of the distinction Bp. Lightfoot says:—‘The 
written law—the Old Testament—is always 6 véuos. At least it seems 
never to be quoted otherwise ; vduos without the article is “law” 
considered as a principle, exemplified no doubt chiefly and signally in 


710 THE EPISTLES 





the Mosaic Law, but very much wider than this in its application.’ 
Another noteworthy expression, ‘the flesh,’ occurs twenty-eight times, 
with various shades of meaning which should be carefully distin- 
guished. Other prominent words are ‘sin’ and ‘death,’ the former 
occurring forty-seven times, the latter about half as many. The strong 
expression, pi) yévorro, ‘let it not be,’ should also be noted’; rendered 
‘God forbid,’ 3**!, &c. In this epistle Paul first speaks of himself as 
‘a servant,’ i.e. bondservant of Jesus Christ, 1, and substitutes for ‘to 
the church’ or ‘churches,’ as in his former epistles, the expression 
‘to the beloved of God, called [to be] saints,’ 17. 


Tue Prison EpIsteEs. 


Of the thirteen Pauline Epistles, four were written during 
the latter part of the Apostle’s two years’ imprisonment, 
when he was a prisoner under guard in his own ‘hired 
house.’ The Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians were 
written at the same time, and sent by the same messenger, 
Tychicus, who carried with him also a letter from Paul to 
Philemon. That to the Philippians is generally regarded 
as the latest of the four, written when the author was 
awaiting the issue of his trial before Nero*. 


Epistle to the Ephesians 
Rome, A.D. 62. 


497. To whom addressed.— That this epistle was 
written by the Apostle Paul there is abundant evidence, 
both external and internal. But as the name Ephesus is 
wanting in 1! in a few ancient manuscripts, it has been 
doubted to whom it was addressed. Some have supposed 
it to be ‘the Epistle from Laodicea,’ referred to in Col 47°. — 
Others extend this view further, and more reasonably con- 
jecture from the general character of its contents, and the 
absence of local and personal allusions, that it was a 
Circular Letter to the churches of Asia Minor; sent on from 


® Lightfoot, however, regards Philippians as the earliest. 


EPHESIANS 711 


one to another, with a blank in the address to be filled 
up according to its immediate destination. This is the 
view now generally held by scholars. 

Ephesus, the chief city of the district, was a large city 
of Ionia, the capital of the Roman province of Asia. It 
was chiefly celebrated for its temple of Artemis (Diana), 
which was of extreme magnificence, enriched with immense 
treasures, and regarded as one of the wonders of the world. 
Its inhabitants were noted for luxury and voluptuousness, 
and for the practice of magical arts. 

The Book of Acts (1815 19) mentions two visits of 
Paul to Ephesus. The first time, on his way to Jerusalem, 
he preached on one Sabbath in the synagogue, leaving 
behind him Priscilla and Aquila, who were shortly after- 
wards joined by Apollos. On his second visit, Paul remained 
there more than two years; probably on account of the 
importance of the place, as a principal seat of idolatry and 
. a great centre of influence, and his labours were crowned 
with signal success, both among the citizens and the 
inhabitants of the surrounding country. About a year 
subsequently, when he was on his way from Macedonia to 
Jerusalem, he had an interview with the elders of the 
Ephesian church at the neighbouring seaport of Miletus. 


498. Character and contents of the Epistle.—This 
epistle is one of those written by Paul while he was a prisoner 
at Rome, and, like the letters to Philippi and Colossz, is 
remarkable for a peculiar pathos and elevation of thought 
and feeling. The Apostle’s whole mind seems to have been 
filled with the transcendent excellency of the privileges and 
hopes of believers in Christ, the all-comprehensive character 
of the Christian dispensation, and its certain triumphs and 
glorious results. 

Anxious for the welfare of his Asiatic converts, the 
Apostle was about to send Tychicus to them ; and he wrote 


712 THE EPISTLES 
this epistle, one object of which was to remove any feelings 


of distrust or discouragement which the intelligence of his , 


imprisonment might have produced in their minds, and to 
prevent that circumstance being taken advantage of by 
Jewish zealots to lower his apostolic authority, or oppose 
the great truth in which he gloried—the unity and uni- 
versality of the Church as the body of Christ. In the words 
of the Dean of Westminster, the epistle is ‘one supreme 
exposition, non-controversial, positive, fundamental, of the 
great doctrine of his life, the doctrine of the unity of man- 
kind in Christ, and of the purpose of God for the world 
through the Church 4.’ 


Contents.—This épistle may be divided into two parts :—(1) Doc- 
trinal (1-3) ; and (2) Practical (4-6). 

1. After the opening salutation, Paul breaks forth into expressions 
of praise to God for the blessings of redemption, and especially for 
the extension of them to the Gentiles, of which they had an earnest 
in the baptism of the Spirit ; dwells on the two wonderful displays of 
omnipotent grace, first in the glorification of Christ, and then in that 
of His regenerated people (1, 2)~!°), and reminds his Asiatic readers of 
their former heathen state of spiritual death and distance from God, 
and of the great change in their condition by being now, through His 
sovereign mercy, admitted to the fellowship of the saints (2!—**) ». 
Then, describing himself as a prisoner in the cause of Christ for the 
sake of the Gentiles, he speaks of the special revelation and commis- 
sion granted to him in reference to them; grounds upon it an exhor- 
tation not to be discouraged at his sufferings ; and assures them of his 
prayers that they might be increasingly enlightened and strengthened, 
and have a full enjoyment of the benefits of Christ’s redeeming love (3). 

2. In the remaining chapters of the epistle, which are chiefly 
practical, the Apostle beseeches them to maintain a conduct and spirit 
worthy of the exalted privileges to which they had been called ; 
reminds them of the great ends which the spiritual gifts bestowed 
upon them were designed to promote ; enjoins upon them a course of 
conduct in direct contrast to that of the heathen around them and to 
their own former lives ; exhorts them particularly to unity, trathful- 
ness, meekness, honesty, and industry ; to purity of speech ; to kind- 


® J. Armitage Robinson, Ephesians, p. Io. 
> On the Divine grace manifested towards heathen converts, see 
Col 127 29-14 x Pet 138 21°, 






: 
: 


EPHESIANS AND COLOSSIANS 713 


ness and generosity, after the example of Christ; and to universal 
uprightness and holiness of conduct (4, 51°). He then enforces, by 
motives peculiar to the gospel, an exemplary discharge of all relative 
duties (571-6) ; concluding with animated exhortations to fortitude, 
watchfulness, and prayer ; followed by a commendation of Tychicus, 
the bearer of the epistle, and by his apostolic benedictions (61-4), 





Lessons.—In the circumstances in which this epistle was written, 
and in the subsequent history of the churches to which it was 
addressed, there is much that is instructive. The epistle which dwells 
- most on the unsearchable riches of God’s wisdom and love was written 
when its author was in bonds. A heart filled with thoughts most 
spiritual and heavenly devotes attention to relative and moral duties 
(478 5, 61°), and enforces them by appeals founded on our relation to 
Christ and to the Holy Spirit (45° 8’ 5?-*5 6°), The churches a few 
years later were in a very different state from that which is here 
implied, Rev 2!7 341° Their history is a solemn warning to 
Christians in every age. 


499. Key-words and characteristic expressions.—On the leading 
thought of this epistle Dr. Marcus Dods says : ‘ Unity is the key to this 
epistle: the unity of the Church with God, the unity of the two great 
sections of the Christian Church, the unity of the members of the 
Church Catholic.’ In Christ all things, both in heaven and on earth, 
are gathered together in one, 11°. Five times in this epistle occurs the 
phrase ‘heavenly places’ (rd éxouvpama); and ‘grace’ no less than twelve 
times. ‘Riches’ is another recurrent expression, ‘riches of grace,’ 
1’ 2’; ‘riches of glory,’ 1 31°; ‘riches of Christ,’ 3°. ‘Mystery,’ 
in the sense of a secret once hid but now revealed, is characteristic 
indeed generally of Paul, but characteristic specially of this epistle, 
in which it is five times used (1° 3°4° 6), and each time with 
remarkable emphasis ; see Robinson's Ephesians, p. 234. The compari- 
son of the church to a magnificent building, and the allegory drawn 
from the armour of a Roman soldier, have their fullest expression in 
this epistle (2*°-?? 6-17), The omission of personal greetings has 
been already noted. 


Epistle to the Colossians 
Rome, A.D. 62. 


500. Colosse or Colassz was one of the chief cities of 
Phrygia. It was situated on the Lycus, a branch of the 
Meander, ‘distant,’ says Professor Ramsay, ‘only about 


714 THE EPISTLES 





ten miles from Laodicea and thirteen from Hierapolis, and 
hence the three cities formed a single sphere of missionary 
labours for Epaphras, an inhabitant of Colossw’ (4'*-'%). 
From 2! it seems certain that Paul had never visited Colossz ; | 
but he knew several of the Colossian Christians, among 
whom were Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus, possibly 
husband, wife, and son®. The Colossians, haying heard of 
Paul’s imprisonment, sent to him Epaphras, to comfort the 
Apostle, and to inform him of their state. Epaphras, shortly 
after reaching Rome, was also imprisoned, Philem 2°, 


501. Place and time of writing.—This epistle was 
written during Paul’s first imprisonment at Rome (1** 418)> ; 
and probably about the same time as those to the Ephesians 
and to Philemon; the three letters being all sent by the 
same messengers, Tychicus and Onesimus, the latter of 
whom was returning to his master, Philemon, at Colosse. 
The account given of the church by Epaphras was on the 
whole satisfactory. There appears, however, to have been 
some danger from false teachers, who aimed to combine with 
Christianity the speculations of the philosophers, such as in 
the next century developed into gnosticism. The supreme 
dignity of Christ was denied, by ascribing to angels the work 
of creation (11°) and of mediating in redemption between 
God and man; the worship of angels was introduced into 
the church (25). Reference is also clearly discernible to 
the disturbing influence of Judaizing and of ascetic teachers 
(216 gl1-18.19)) To correct and refute this threefold error 
was the purpose of this epistle°¢. 

® See Lightfoot, Colossians and Philemon, pp. 301-308. Onesimus was 
a slave in the same household. 

> With less probability the letter has been assigned to the two years’ 
captivity at Cesarea; so Reuss, Meyer, Holtzmann, De Pressensé. 
But by far the larger number of critics refer the letter to the Roman 
captivity. ; 

© On the Colossian heresy, especially in its bearing on the date an 
authenticity of the epistle, see Lightfoot, Colossians, pp. 71-111. 


COLOSSIANS 715 


Colossians and ‘ Ephesians.’—The striking resemblance 
between this epistle and that ‘to the Ephesians’ indicates 
sonie similarity in the tendencies of the churches addressed, 
and is also ascribable to the fact that both epistles being 
written about the same time, the same ideas, and even the 
same expressions, would be likely to recur. The two 
epistles must, in fact, be read together. ‘The one is,’ 
as Michaelis observes, ‘a commentary on the other.’ A differ- 
ence of stress may be noted. The controversial note in this 
epistle leads to insistence on the nature of Christ and on 
what He is to His Church ; in Ephesians Paul expounds the 
unity of the Church and its glorious destiny in the purposes 
of its Divine Lord. 

This epistle was to be sent to Laodicea, and the Colossians 
were to receive from Laodicea the epistle he had directed 
to be sent on to them (4°), probably the circular letter known 
as the Epistle to the Ephesians. 


502. Contents of the Epistle.—The epistle may be divided into 
two parts—doctrinal and practical. 

1. After the usual salutation, the Apostle expresses his thankfulness 
for the effects of the gospel among the Colossians, and his prayerful 
anxiety that they might continue to advance in spiritual knowledge 
and in Christian virtues (11); he sets forth the creative and the 
mediatorial function of the Divine Redeemer, giving a sublime view 
of the whole doctrine of reconciliation by Christ, both in its ampli- 
tude, as affecting all created beings, and in its individual application to 
“His body, the Church,’ and especially to these Gentile converts 
(215), He then speaks of his own labours and sufferings as the 
Apostle of the Gentiles, and expresses his intense solicitude for their 
stability and perseverance (174-2"). 

He cautions them against particular errors ; showing that no philo- 
sophical speculations, no human ordinances or traditions, no ascetic 
austerities, could raise the soul above gross pursuits, or enable it to 
realize unseen and eternal objects. But that, on the other hand, in 
Christ is perfect salvation ; faith in Him not only reconciling us to 
God, but, by connecting us with an ascended Redeemer, leading our 
thoughts and desires to things above (28-3*). 

2. He then expands the application of the foregoing doctrine, points 
out the operation of this vitalizing faith, in subduing the propensities 





716 THE EPISTLES 


of the old sinful nature, and producing and sustaining the varied holi- 
ness of the new man; and, above all, brotherly love, which is to be 
exercised in social worship and mutual edification (377). He gives 
brief directions for the fulfilment of domestie duties (3'%-4?) ; 
exhorts the Colossians to constancy in prayer and thanksgiving, and 
to consistent conduct before the world (47); and, in conclusion, 
mentions Tychicus and Onesimus, who would give them full informa- 
tion of all his circumstances; and sends salutations from his fellow 
labourers and from himself, with a special message to Archippus: 
adding a touching injunction, at the moment of signing the letter, to 
remember his bonds (4718), 


503. Key-words and phrases of the Epistle-—LEADING THOUGHT 
—‘ Christ all, and in all,’ 3". ‘In Him dwelleth all the fullness of 
the Godhead bodily.’ ‘Christ is the Pleroma, the Plenitude, at once 
the brimmed receptacle and the total contents of all the gifts and attri- 
butes of God’ (F. W. Farrar). Note the constant repetition of ‘ to fill,’ 
‘to fulfil,’ and kindred words, 1%-*4-25 210 412; ‘fullness’ or ‘ pleni- 
tude,’ 11° 29; the repetition of ‘all,’ ‘every,’ 115-16-17.25.28 &¢., and the 
use of current terms of incipient gnosticism, ‘knowledge,’ ‘ full 
knowledge,’ ‘wisdom,’ ‘understanding.’ ‘Mystery,’ 1°%?7 2% 4°, as 
in other Pauline writings, is generally accompanied by the idea of 
revelation, or manifestation, to signify a secret made known. As in 
‘Ephesians,’ so here appears his favourite expression ‘riches,’ ‘the 
riches of the glory of this mystery,’ 177; ‘riches of the full assurance 
of understanding,’ 2? ; and in adverbial form, ‘let the word of Christ 
dwell in you richly,’ 3°. 

Among the peculiar words to be noted as occurring only once are : 
‘philosophy,’ 28; ‘will worship, 275; to beguile of one’s reward 
(‘rob you of your prize,’ R. V.) («ataBpaBevew), 2°, from the word 
denoting the judge or umpire in the publie games (see 3 R. V. marg.). 

The shorter form of benediction, characteristic of Paul's later epistles, 
occurs here for the first time. Cf. 418 with 1 Tim 67! 2 Tim 4” Tit 3". 


The Epistle to Philemon 


Rome, A.D. 62. 


504. A private Letter: subject and contents.—This 
inspired model of private Christian correspondence was 
addressed by the Apostle Paul to Philemon, one of his 





J 
‘ . 
: 
| 


PHILEMON 717 


converts residing at Colossx (compare verses 2, 10, 19 with 
Col 4°-""), of whom nothing more is known than may be 
gathered from the letter. From this it has been supposed 
that Philemon was an elder or deacon in the church, and 
that Apphia was his wife. Archippus seems to have been 
pastor at Colossx, Col 41". 

This epistle was evidently written (see verses 10-12, 23) 
and sent at the same time as that to the Colossians (see 
Col 4°: compare also verses 22, -24 with Col 410-14), 
Onesimus, the subject of this epistle and the bearer of both, 
was a slave (probably a domestic servant) of Philemon, 
who, having fled from his master, had found his way to 
Rome ; and, while there, had been converted by the instru- 
mentality of Paul, verse to. After a time, Paul, thinking 
it right that he should return to his master, wrote this 
beautiful and persuasive letter in order to secure for him 
a kind reception. ‘A few friendly lines,’ says M. Sabatier, 
‘so full of grace and wit, of earnest trustful affection, that 
this short epistle shines among the rich treasures of the 
New Testament as a pearl of exquisite fineness.’ 

After an affectionate salutation from himself and Timothy, the 
Apostle expresses his thankfulness at hearing of the good reputation 
which Philemon as a Christian enjoyed, and then gracefully intro- 
duces the main subject of his letter : requesting as ‘ Paul the aged,’ 
now a prisoner for their common faith, what he might as an Apostle 
havecommanded. Acknowledging the fault of Onesimus, he mentions 
the happy change which had taken place in him: and hints that his 
flight had been overruled for his master’s benefit as well as his own; 
and entreats that he may be received back, no longer as a slave, but as 
a beloved Christian brother. He then delicately proposes to make 
good any loss Philemon might have sustained ; whilst he intimates 
how great were his friend’s obligations to himself. 

This short letter is invaluable, as offering an example of humility, 
courteousness, and freedom, in the intercourse of Christian friendship: 


and we cannot but suppose that the gentleness and address of the 
Apostle’s pleading were effectual. 


505. Key-words and phrases.—Short as is this letter, there are 
a few distinctive expressions of which note should be made. It is here 


718 THE EPISTLES 


the Apostle speaks of himself as ‘ Paul the aged,’ verse 9*; plays with 
a touch of humour on the name Onesimus, which means ‘ Helpful,’ and 
the word dvaiuny (‘have joy or help’) in verse 20, and uses in close 
antithesis ‘unprofitable’ (dypyaros) and ‘profitable’ (etypyaros), verse Ir. 
Characteristic of this epistle is the thrice-repeated ‘ bowels’ (e@#Adyxva) 
in the sense of the heart, tender affection, 





Epistle to the Philippians : 


Rome, a.v. 63. | 


506. Introduction of the Gospel to Europe.—Philippi 
was a city of Macedonia, enlarged by Philip of Macedon, 
and afterwards raised to the rank of a Roman military 
colony by Julius Cesar, who gave the people the privileges 
of a Roman city ; and it is distinguished as having been the 
first place in Europe which received the gospel, Paul having 
been specially directed thither by the Holy Spirit, in 
opposition to his previous plans (Ac 16). On arriving at 
Philippi, Paul followed his usual custom of addressing 
himself first to the Jews; who appear, however, to have 
been few in number. Those who met for worship at a 
place of prayer outside the city were chiefly women; one 
of whom, a visitor from Asia, was the first convert to 
Christianity. The successful labours of Paul and Silas, 
and the persecution raised against them, which led to their 
sudden departure from it, are related in Ac 16. That Paul 
twice visited Philippi again, before his first imprisonment at 
Rome, is plain from Ac 20'-?-°, On his first visit he seems 
to have left Luke behind him (16 17'). Luke also, who 
was with him in the earlier part of his imprisonment (Ac 27 
Col 414), seems now to have left him (2°°-#4), 


507. Place and time of writings the Epistle.—This 
epistle was manifestly written at Rome (see 1!2-™ 4%), 


* Or possibly ‘Paul the ambassador.’ See Lightfoot, 


PHILIPPIANS 719 


and, perhaps, during the latter part of the Apostle’s first 
captivity in that city. For Paul, at the time of writing it, 
seems to anticipate a speedy decision of his case, and hopes 
to obtain his release (175-27 223-24), Jt appears to have been 
written on the occasion of the return of Epaphroditus, 
whom the Philippian church had sent to Rome with a 
pecuniary contribution for the Apostle’s relief during his 
imprisonment, and who, while zealously performing this 
service, had fallen dangerously ill: the tidings of which 
so afflicted the Philippians, that the Apostle was induced, 
upon his recovery, to send him back sooner than he had 
intended (274 °°). 


Character of the Church at Philippi.—The church at 
Philippi appears to have been one of the most pure and 
generous of that age. Its members showed the tenderest 
regard for Paul. Twice while he was at Thessalonica, and 
once when at Corinth, they had sent him contributions for 
his support, which he accepted, to prevent the gospel being 
burdensome to more recent converts (41°-1® 2 Cor 11°). They 
had also cheerfully borne many sufferings for their adherence 
to the Saviour (175~°°). Their conduct had been uniformly 
so exemplary that he had only to rejoice over them. 
Accordingly, in this epistle, he pours forth his heart in 
expressions of devout thankfulness and hearty commenda- 
tions, not unmingled, however, with exhortations and 
counsel. 


508. Contents.—The epistle may be divided into three parts :— 

1. After an affectionate introduction, Paul expresses his gratitude 
to God for the Philippians, and his earnest desire for the increase of 
their knowledge and holiness (1). That they might not be dejected 
on his account, he assures them that his imprisonment had not hin- 
dered but promoted the gospel; some gathering boldness from his 
bonds, and others preaching Christ in a spirit of rivalry. If Christ be 
but preached and magnified, whether it be by Paul’s labours or by his 
martyrdom, he himself is more than content, The former he thinks 
the more probable; and he exhorts the Philippians at all events to 


720 THE EPISTLES 


maintain a conduct worthy of the gospel, to be steadfast and courageous, 
united, generous, and humble, copying the example of their blessed 
Lord, and reminds them that their consistency and usefulness are his 
own highest rewards. He promises to send Timothy to them, gives 
his reason for sending Epaphroditus, and commends the character of 
each (112-2%), 

2. He exhorts them to rejoice in their Christian privileges ; and to 
be on their guard against Judaizing teachers, who prided themselves 
upon distinctions in which he himself could more than compete with 
them ; but which, however once valued, he now regarded as utterly 
worthless, in comparison with the surpassing excellency of the know- 
ledge of Christ ; and then, referring to his own holy ambition to strive 
after perfection, urges upon the Philippians a similar spirit ; contrast- 
ing with this the-conduct of some false professors, against whom he 
had previously warned them (3'-4"). 

3. Admonitions are addressed to individual members of the church, 
hinting at some kind of disagreement; followed by exhortations to 
holy joy, moderation, prayer, and thanksgiving ; and to the study and 
practice of all that is true, just, pure, amiable, and praiseworthy (4?~). 
The epistle concludes with grateful acknowledgements of the repeated 
proofs of affection, care, and sympathy which he had received from 
the Philippians, in which he rejoiced for their sakes, intimating, 
however, with noble delicacy, his contentment with either poyerty or 
abundance ; and closes with salutations and a benediction (4'°*5), 

509. Key-words and characteristic expressions.—Joy is the 
key-note. ‘‘‘T rejoice,” ‘‘ye rejoice,”’ says Bengel, ‘is the sum of the 
epistle.’ This spirit of joy finds expression in 142825 221718 91 414.10, 
The epistle abounds likewise in expression of Love. ‘I long after you 
all in the bowels (‘tender mercies,’ R. V.) of Jesus Christ,’ 18, cf, 2%. 
‘Brethren dearly beloved and longed for,’ 4. ‘Beloved’ and ‘brethren’ 
again and again recur. Unity is another prominent idea, 127-8° 4 
4°. Perhaps there was some special cause for insisting upon this, and 
a measure of rebuke is most delicately conveyed. See 4°-*. Among ex- 
pressions peculiar to the epistle :—‘ to depart,’ i. e. from life (dvaAvew), 
1°, literally ‘to unloose,’ as of a ship weighing anchor, or of a camp 
breaking up. The references to Christ :—‘in the form of God’ (é& 
poppn Ged), 2°; ‘He made Himself of no reputation’ (i, e. ‘emptied 
Himself,’ R. V.), 27; ‘thought it not robbery’ (dprayyds) (‘ counted it 
not a prize,’ R. V.), 2°. The comparison of Judaizers (?) to ‘dogs,’ 3” ; 
‘the mark,’ ‘the goal’ (cxomdés), 31%. Observe the famous doctrinal 
passage on the Godhead of Christ and His Manhood, 2°, and the 
striking and beautiful directions for profitable thought, with the six 
times repeated ‘ whatsoever things’ (Sca), 4°. Note also Paul’s allu- 
sions to the Przetorian guard, 17°, among whom he seems to have been 





: 
| 
| 
: 


THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 721 


well known as a prisoner for the cause of Christ, and to ‘ the saints of 
Czsar’s household,’ 422, probably slaves or freedmen in Nero’s palace. 
Observable also is it that, writing to those who had the Roman fran- 
chise, the Apostle speaks of the rights and duties of citizens, 17 
(marg. R. V.) 3”°. 


Tue THREE PastoraAt EPIstiezs. 


510. Specialities of these Epistles.—Of these epistles 
it has been well said: ‘ They were not addressed to churches, 
but to individuals—to two younger men, friends and com- 
panions of Paul’s travels, who were in perfect sympathy 
with him—to men who had submitted themselves to his 
personal influence, and were familiar with his methods of 
thought. To them there was no need to expound the 
philosophy, whether of law, or of sin, or of redemption. 
It was unnecessary for him in these epistles to vindicate 
his apostolic office, or to recount either his afflictions or his 
services. Timothy and Titus had suffered with him. They - 
had difficult duties to discharge, and needed both advice 
and stimulus. The principles and details of church dis- 
cipline, the motives and law of Christian service, were the 
themes on which he dilated. It is in harmony with these 
obvious peculiarities of the epistles that they should abound 
in phrases suitable to confidential intercourse, and that they 
should refer to matters which were not included in other 
and earlier correspondence?.’ 

Their authenticity has been more questioned than that of 
any other of the Apostle’s writings; but as there was never 
any doubt on the subject in the early Church, and all the 
differences observable between these and the other Pauline 
epistles may be accounted for by differences of time and sub- 
ject, as well as by the hypothesis of a journey by Paul after 
his first Roman imprisonment, there is little real ground 
for doubt on the question. See a valuable excursus on the 
subject in Conybeare and Howson, Appendix I. 

* Dr. H. R. Reynolds in the Expositor, vol. i, first series, 
3A 


722 THE EPISTLES 


First Epistle to Timothy 


Macedonia, a.D. 64 or 67. 





511. Training and character of Timothy.—Timothy — 


was an inhabitant, perhaps a native, of Lystra, Ac 16!~. 
His father was a Greek, his mother and grandmother were 
devout Jewesses, by whom he was carefully trained in a 
knowledge of the Scriptures, 2 Tim 3%. He was probably 
converted by Paul when but a boy® on the Apostle’s first 
visit to Lystra, Ac 14° 161 (see 1 Tim 1° 2 Tim 1* x Cor 4"); 
and on his second visit was chosen to be the companion 
of the Apostle in his journeys and labours. He is every- 
where spoken of in terms of high praise, 1 Th 3? Phil 2%, 
and is a noble instance of eminent gifts and grace in one 
young in years and feeble in health, 41” 57%. 


512. Date of the Epistle.—It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to 
determine when this epistle was written. From 1° if has been sup- 
posed that it belongs to the period when Paul left Ephesus after the 
uproar caused by Demetrius, and went to Macedonia (Ac 20'). There 
are, however, serious difficulties in the way of this supposition, and 
it is now the generally accepted conclusion that this epistle must 
have been written at a later period, after the Apostle’s first im- 
prisonment at Rome, while upon a journey undertaken by him 
shortly before his final imprisonment. 

Considerations of style and diction, of subject-matter in refer- 
ence to the state of the church, and disturbing heresies indicate an 
interval of several years from the time of the earlier prison epistles. 


513. Its purpose and contents.—The epistle appears 
to have two chief objects :— 

1. To counteract the false doctrines of Jewish teachers, 
who, whilst professing adherence to the Law, taught doctrines 
at variance with its holy requirements. Their fallacies and 


® Some sixteen years afterwards Timothy is addressed as a young 
man, 1 Tim 4)". 


I TIMOTHY 723 


the contrary truths are forcibly exhibited in 1 47~1° 63—5.20.21, 
Compare Ac 2077-*? 2 Cor 41-7. 

2. To guide and encourage Timothy in the duties of his 
office; directing him as to (1) public devotions, 2'~°; (2) 
the duties and behaviour of Christian women, 2°-!2: compare 
mOOrertom | t4°-*° + Pet 31-6: (3) church, officers, 31719; 
(4) his own teaching, 3'4 4; (5) his personal holiness, 
4/116; and (6) his church administration in the treatment 
of offenders, of widows, of good elders and bad, of slaves, 
of the rich; and the duties of those several classes of 
persons, 5,6: compare Tit 14°-3", With this teaching are 
mingled many urgent and affectionate appeals, tender 
references to Paul’s own conversion, and solemn anticipa- 
tions of the coming of Christ. 


Views of the Christian Ministry.—In the Epistles to Timothy and 
Titus—the Pastoral Epistles—we have the clearest revelation given in 
Scripture of the character (a), qualifications (6), and duties (¢) of the 
_ Christian minister. Though the whole are often described in the 
same passage, they may be thus arranged : 


Gyo Rim natin! 162 21-8. 14-26 2\Cor 4157 Ac 20785, 
@)ecelimes sit 1o2, 
(c) 1 Tim 4°67 Tit 115 (see Ro 1617-18) 2 Tim 34-45. 


With all these passages compare Paul’s description of his own 
experience, motives and labours (see 2 Cor 4-6) ; a model of the gospel 
ministry. 


Deacons.—The qualifications of deacons are described in 1 Tim 3°—'8; 
see also Ac 67-8, In Phil 11 ministers and deacons are addressed 
with all the saints. 

On the other hand, churches owe to their ministers support (d), 
affection and respect (e), and within proper limits, obedience (/) 


(d) x Tim 57-18 Gal 667 1 Cor 94 2 Th 3®° (ef. Mt 101° Lu 10’). 
(@) 2 fim) 527 2 Th 5-8, 
(f) Heb 13" ; for the limits see 1 Cor 111 Phil 3!7 Heb 137. 


Warnings against error.—These epistles contain also the fullest 
account of the approaching corruption of Christianity (g), and of the 
extensive prevalence of infidelity (), in what Scripture calls the 
last times. 

ZA2 


724 THE EPISTLES 


(g) 1 Tim 4’ 2 Tim 3" 2 Th 2’? (ef. 2 Pet 2 Ju 1-18), 

(hk) (Cf. 2 Pet 3° Lu 12°5-** 188.) 

To correct these errors, inspired writers direct us to appeal to 
apostolic doctrine and example, and to the Scriptures generally, 
1 Tim 4° 2 Tim 3% 4'~ 2 Th 2!*"7 2 Pet 11271 Ju 21 =This 
Seriptural plan of checking error is highly instructive. 


514. Key-words and memorable sayings.—The verbal peculiarities 
of the Pastoral Epistles have given rise to much discussion ; concern- 
ing many of them considerations of time and of their special topic 
affard satisfactory explanation. Among the phrases which characterize 
this and other epistles of the Pastoral group note the following:— 
The epithet ‘sound’ or ‘healthful doctrine’ (iyjs, bpaiver), 1 Tim 1 
6°42 Tim 17° 45 Tit 1°75 215, suggested probably by the tendency of 
growing heresies or diseased forms of thought. ‘It is a faithful 
saying,’ a phrase of repeated occurrence, prefacing words of peculiar 
significance, may denote certain Logia current in the early churches, 
or, as some writers have suggested, the use of liturgical forms; see 
1 Tim 1 31 4° 2 Tim 2" Tit 3%. ‘Godliness,’ ‘godly’ (etcéBaa, 
evceB@s), rarely found elsewhere in the New Testament, occurs thirteen 
times in the Epistles as a compendious term for the religion of 
Christians. The words ‘fables’ (yi@o), 1 Tim 14 47 2 Tim 4* Tit 1; 
‘ genealogies,’ 1 Tim 1‘ Tit 3°; ‘vain janglings’ (~ara:oAoyia), 1 Tim 6° 
2 Tim 2!, are all such as owe their use to the progress of heresy. 

Of memorable passages and phrases in this epistle, especially note- 
worthy are 15 the Gospel Message; 2° Christ the Mediator; 3% 
Doctrine of the Incarnation, ‘the Mystery of godliness manifested 
in the flesh’; 6° ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain’; 6’ ‘The 
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil’ R. V. 


Epistle to Titus 


Macedonia, a.p. 64 or 67. 


515. Notices of his life.—Titus is not mentioned in 
the Acts, and nothing more is known of him than we find 
in the epistles of Paul. From incidental allusions we learn 
that he was a Greek by birth, Gal 2°, who had been converted 
to Christianity by the instrumentality of Paul, Tit 1*. He 
went up with Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, Gal 2", and 
afterwards accompanied Paul on his travels, being sent by 





TITUS 725 


him on various important missions; and he is repeatedly 
mentioned by the Apostle in terms of approbation and 
affection, 2 Cor 75~7-18-15 g16-#4 yol7-18, 

Being the son of Gentile parents, and therefore in a 
different position from that of Timothy, he was not circum- 
cised. Circumcision in his case would have involved, as 
Paul reasoned, a compromise of principle, especially if 


performed at the bidding of the Judaizing party, Gal 2°. 


Titus at Crete.—At the time when this epistle was 


_ written, Titus had been left by the Apostle in the island 


of Crete, that he might establish and regulate the churches 
there (1°). It is not easy to determine when this occurred ; 
no opportunity for it having been afforded by the only visit 
to Crete, recorded in Ac 27'*; for Paul was then on his 
way to Rome as a prisoner, his stay was short, nor could 
he then expect to spend the ensuing winter in Nicopolis 
(see 3)”). 

Some have supposed that Paul may have landed at Crete on his 
voyage from Corinth to Ephesus, mentioned Ac 18'*; and that he 
wrote this epistle subsequently from Ephesus, having formed the in- 
tention of spending the winter at a town named Nicopolis in Cilicia, 
between Antioch and Tarsus (see 3!%). Others have placed Paul’s 
visit to Crete between his leaving Ephesus for Macedonia and his 
second visit to Corinth, Ac 207. But such hypotheses are forced and 
artificial, and the simplest account of the matter is that Paul, sailing to 
Asia after his first imprisonment in Rome (see Introd. to 1 Timothy), 
took Crete in his way and left Titus there, and that he wrote this 
epistle from Macedonia, when on his way to the Thracian Nicopolis. 

It is further supposed that Titus, according to Paul’s desire, joined 
the Apostle at Nicopolis, and afterwards accompanied him on his last 
journey to Rome, being with him there during part of his second 
imprisonment, 2 Tim 41°; and having then been sent into Dalmatia, 
probably to preach the gospel, or to visit churches already formed 
there. 


516. The Gospel in Crete.—We know nothing of the 
first introduction of the gospel into Crete, but as there were 
Jews from that island among Peter’s audience on the day 
of Pentecost (Ac 214), it is probable that the Christian faith 


726 THE EPISTLES 


/ 


was carried thither by converts from among them. It 
appears also from this epistle that Paul had laboured — 


there, and probably with considerable success; but that 
by some means he had been hurried thence before he could 
order the state of the churches in a regular manner. 

The commission entrusted to Titus in Crete appears to 
have been peculiarly difficult. Although nature had en- 
dowed this island with all that could tend to render man 
happy, and the inhabitants had formerly been renowned 
for the wisdom of their constitution and their laws, long 
before this time the state of law and of morals had sunk 
very low. The character of the people was unsteady, in- 
sincere, and quarrelsome: they were notoriously given to 
licentiousness and intemperance. Some of the Jews who 
had settled among them seem to have been regarded by the 
Apostle as more dangerous in many respects than the natives 
themselves. 


517. Contents of the Epistle.—There is a striking resemblance 
between this epistle and the First Epistle to Timothy; and they are 
generally supposed to have been written about the same time. This 
epistle is particularly remarkable, as compressing into a very short 
compass a large amount of instruction, embracing doctrine, morals, 
and discipline. Its contents are as follows :— 

After an apostolic salutation, declaring the object for which Paul 
had invested Titus with special authority, he deseribes the qualifica- 
tions required in those who were to be ordained to the ministry ; and 
which were the more necessary on account of the dangerous principles 
of the false teachers whom they had to oppose, and the general 
character of the Cretans (1). He next describes the instructions 
which were to be given to various classes of persons, enjoining upon 
the aged and the young the virtues which ought severally to distin- 
guish them ; exhorting Titus (himself a young man) to set a pattern, 
in his own conduct, of the virtues he was to inculeate; teaching 
servants to be obedient and faithful ; for the salvation of the gospel 
was designed for all orders and classes of mankind, making them 
holy in this life, and preparing them for a higher and better (2). 
Titus is then instructed to enjoin obedience to rulers, and a peaceable 
and gentle behaviour to all men ; remembering their own former sin- 
fulness, and their salvation through the free grace of God. The 





TITUS: II TIMOTHY 727 


indispensable obligation which believers are under to excel in good 
works is insisted upon; cautions are given against engaging in 
frivolous inquiries and unprofitable disputations; and after some 
other brief directions to Titus, the epistle is closed with salutations 
and a benediction (3). 

It is very observable in this epistle that those of the humblest rank 
are exhorted to adorn the gospel (2!°), and that while our salvation is 
ascribed exclusively to grace (2), to the ‘kindness and love of God 
our Saviour’ (3*), this fact is made the ground of most urgent 
exhortations to holiness (2! 38), 

On the duties Christians owe to civil government, compare Tit 3} 
Ro 131-19 x Pet 218-17 2 Pet 219 Ju 8. 


518. Key-words: special phrases and passages. — Prominent 
among the leading words of the epistle is that of Saviour. The word 
occurs six times in the three chapters, 1° 210-15 346: of these instances 
three (1° 21° 3*) refer to God ; 2!° is of uncertain application. See also 
24. ‘Sound’ or ‘healthy’ doctrine is another characteristic expression 
(as in x Tim) 1°18 21.8.“ Sober- (or ‘‘sound-”) minded’ (cwppwy and 
its derivatives) occurs 1° 24°-612, ‘Good works’ as the practical issue of 
faith is a recurrent phrase, 2714 318-14. Noteworthy also the quotation 
from a heathen poet descriptive of the Cretan character, 11*; and the 
two doctrinal summaries, 2!1~!* and 3*-7. 


Second Epistle to Timothy 
Rome, A.D. 67 or 68. 


519. When written.—This epistle was written when 
Paul was a prisoner at Rome (see 1°16 4°); during his 
second captivity, not long before his martyrdom. That it 
was not written during his first imprisonment may be 
gathered in part from the absence of several who were 
with him then (see Phil 11 Col 1! Philem !: compare also 
410.11 with Col 41-14); and from the difference in the 
Apostle’s expectations, which were now fixed upon a speedy 
decease (compare 4° with Phil 1” 2*%* Philem *); as 
well as from his circumstances of increased restriction 
and greater solitude (compare 117-8 with Ac 28°%°! and 
Phil 11%). But more decisive evidence is afforded by several 


728 THE EPISTLES 


incidental allusions to eveuts which had clearly oceurred — 


not long before this letter was written. Mention is made of 
a cloak and books left at Troas (4™), which Paul had not 
visited for five years before his first imprisonment at Rome ; 
of Trophimus, who had been left sick at Miletus (4%°), but 
who had been with the Apostle at Jerusalem at the time 
of his first apprehension, Ac 21%; of Erastus as haying 
stayed at Corinth (4°°), where Paul had not been since 
his visit there five years before, accompanied by Timothy, 


Ac 20%. All these circumstances point to a date later, pro-— 


bably by two years, than that of his first epistle. Such 
incidental allusions are quite unlike the work of a forger. 
The interval between Paul’s two imprisonments he seems 
to have spent in Asia, Philem *?, afterwards in Macedonia, 
Phil 17° 2% 1 Tim 1°; wintering in Nicopolis (of Epirus), 
Tit 3'*. Why he returned to Rome we are not told, but he 
Was soon imprisoned as an evil-doer, 2 Tim 2°; and among 
his accusers was Alexander, the coppersmith of Ephesus, 
‘who did him much evil,’ 4"*. 

If this view be correct, and this epistle was the last 
which the Apostle wrote before his martyrdom, it is invested 
with peculiar interest as containing the dying counsels of 
one who was not ‘behind the chiefest of the Apostles.’ 


520. Purpose and contents of the Epistle.—One object 
of writing this epistle was to request Timothy to come to 
him speedily (4°); because his other friends had left him 
—all but his faithful comrade Luke (see 4197"), He desired 
the presence of Timothy and Mark (the old alienation haying 
been completely healed) that they might both cheer him 
in his trials, and aid him in the work of the ministry 
(see verse I1). 

Commencing with strong expressions of affectionate regard, he 
addresses to his ‘son Timothy’ a series of earnest exhortations to 


steadfastness, diligence, and patience in his work; to courage and 
constancy under persecutions; and to the exercise of all personal 














II TIMOTHY 729 


virtues; encouraging him by calling to mind his early training in 
piety and in the knowledge of the Scriptures; reminding him of 
some who had proved unfaithful in the hour of trial; warning both 
Timothy and his flock against false teachers, vain controversies, and 
false professors, the increase of whom is predicted; foretelling the 
grievous times which were yet to come; and enforcing his solemn 
charge to Timothy to be vigilant, faithful, and zealous in the dis- 
charge of his ministry, by the consideration that his own course was 
nearly run, and the time of his departure was at hand. 

This epistle contains a noble view of the consolation which Chris- 
tians enjoy in the midst of suffering, and in the prospect of death, 
19-18 29-18 46-8.16-18, The holiest spiritual affection to God and 
Christ is not only consistent with human friendships, but productive 
of them, 12-° 4°?! Nowhere are privilege and duty, grace and holi- 
ness more closely combined, 2!% In the approaching corruption 
of Christianity, Paul directs Timothy to the true conservative prin- 
ciple of its purity ; not new miracles nor a fresh revelation, but the 
doctrine in which Timothy had been instructed, and those Scriptures 
which make the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
good works ; ef. 314-17 2 Th 2 2 Pet 171 31-41-17, How instructive 
that in the last writings of both Peter and Paul, nor less in the 
writings of John (Rev 22), and in the prospect of the heresies that 
were to prevail in the Church, we should be directed to the study of 
the Scriptures, and that we are thus led to expect no additional dis- 
closure of the Divine will. 


521. Key-words and special allusions.—The peculiarities of lan- 
guage are similar to those of the other Pastoral Epistles, but in this 
there is greater abruptness of style, as if strong, overflowing emotion 
affected the writer concerning memories of the past and apprehen- 
sions of the future. The motive of this epistle is the desire for 
Timothy’s presence; its key-note is ‘Masten! Come! greatly desiring 
to see thee’ (longing, R. V.), 1*; ‘ Do thy diligence to come shortly,’ 
4°; ‘Do thy diligence to come before winter,’ 47". Conspicuous in this 
epistle are the personal allusions; no fewer than twenty-three names 
being mentioned. Much interest attaches to that of Onesiphorus, and 
the expression of hope concerning him, 118 ; also to the mention of the 
grandmother and mother of Timothy, and the references to Demas, 
Luke, and Mark. The meaning of Paul’s request concerning his 
cloak (peAdv7ys), books, and parchments is much disputed, and the 
interpretations of the commentators curiously inventive. Another of 
the ‘faithful sayings’ appears in this epistle, 2418, and among its 
memorable passages is that on the profitableness of inspired Scripture, 
3/6, and the Apostle’s triumphant retrospect of life, 4°~*. 


730 THE EPISTLES 


Epistle to the Hebrews 
Written about a. p. 68. 





522. The occasion and object of writing this epistle 
are not difficult to discover. The epistle was apparently 
addressed to Hebrew Christians*, who appear to have been 
inhabitants of some particular city or region (see 13”), and 
to have formed an organized society or church which had 
existed some time; haying had pastors who had been removed 
by death (13’); and having now teachers whom they are 
exhorted to obey. It has been generally assumed that 
they were resident in Palestine, either at Jerusalem or 
Cesarea. Some considerations, however, favour the view 
that the epistle was addressed to the Jewish Christians at 
Alexandria (Wieseler, S. Davidson, &c.); other arguments 
are advanced to show it was intended for Jewish converts 
at Rome (Alford, Westcott, Farrar). An opinion has also 
found considerable support that at Antioch were the readers 
to whom it was originally sent. ‘ There alone,’ argues the 
Rey. F. Rendall, following Hofmann, ‘existed flourishing 
Christian churches founded by the earliest missionaries of 
the gospel; animated with Jewish sympathies; full of 
interest in the Mosaic worship, and glorying in the name 
of Hebrew ; who nevertheless spoke the Greek language and 
used the Greek version of the Scriptures.’ 


523. Time and place of writing.—Where and when ~ 
this epistle was written cannot be definitely determined. 
Only one, and that a doubtful indication of place is given, 
13%, ‘They of Italy salute you,’ which may mean those 
among whom the writer was at Rome, or it may mean 
certain Italians who were with the writer and sent greetings 


* Some modern critics, however, argue for a strong Gentile element 
in the church. 


HEBREWS 731 


to their fellow countrymen. Westcott, Farrar, and other 
authorities regard the place of writing as left in complete 
uncertainty. In reference to the date of the epistle it is 
generally agreed that it was written near, but not after the 
destruction of Jerusalem. The writer throughout speaks of 
the Leyitical ritual as still in force. ‘It is impossible,’ as 
Prof. Marcus Dods observes, ‘to suppose that a writer wish- 
ing to demonstrate the evanescent nature of the Levitical 
dispensation, and writing after the Temple services had 
been discontinued, should not have pointed to that event as 
strengthening his argument.’ 


524. Authorship.—The question as to the authorship of the epistle 
has given rise to a large amount of discussion. Though popularly 
ascribed to the Apostle Paul®, great uncertainty has existed from the 
earliest times. Many arguments, external and internal, are adduced 
in favour of the Pauline authorship. 

1. Those to whom the epistle was sent must have known the writer 
(see ro*# 13181925) ; and in preserving and circulating it could hardly 
fail to communicate their knowledge. Now the early Fathers of the 
Eastern and Alexandrian Churches, in the second and third centuries, 
tell us that the ‘ancients,’ who must have been contemporary with 
those who received the original, if not the same persons, had handed 
it down to them as a writing of Paul’s. And the most learned among 
them, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Eusebius, though sensible 
of some difficulties and doubts on the point, held this testimony to be 
conclusive. Clement, however, regards ‘it as really a translation by 
Luke from a Hebrew (? Aramaic) original signed by Paul®, a theory now 
universally and rightly rejected; while Origen is of opinion that 
|‘the thoughts are the thoughts of the Apostle, but the Janguage and 
the composition are those of one who recalled from memory and, as 
it were, made notes of what was said by his master’; adding ‘ Who 
wrote the epistle God only knows with certainty.’ 

2. The Pauline authorship is corroborated by the author’s intimate 


® The heading in the Authorized and Revised Versions, ‘The Epistle 
of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews’ (Stephens, not Elzevir), is, of 
course, not authoritative. The American Revision omits Paul’s 
name. 

> Eusebius, however, holds that the translation was made by 
Clement of Rome, whose Letter to the Corinthians, indeed, shows 
an intimate acquaintance with this epistle. 


ain 


732 THE EPISTLES 


acquaintance with the Jewish system—so worthy of the disciple of 
Gamaliel ; and by his sympathizing interest in the salvation of the 
Jewish people—so like that which is expressed in Ro g, 10, 11 and 
Phil 3. 

3. The few personal allusions found in the epistle are all perfectly 
compatible with what we know of the history of Paul. 

4. Nor is there anything in the peculiarities of style and treatment 
of the subject that cannot be satisfactorily reconciled with Paul's 
other epistles. If found to differ from them in the rhetorical length 
of words and finish of sentences, it is only the more like his speeches 
recorded by Luke. So regular a composition would naturally vary in 
manner from letters of a different character, written under different 
circumstances. Yet the careful reader may sometimes find the 
concise expressions, abrupt transition, reasonings addressed to the 
latent thoughts and objections of the readers, and the occasional 
involutions and long parentheses, resulting from the kindling of soul 
and exuberance of feeling, which characterize the Apostle’s other 
writings. So that the internal as well as external evidence appears 
to support the opinion of the early Fathers, that the epistle is sub- 
stantially Paul’s; though he may have adopted occasionally, as some 
critics suppose, the phraseology of his companion Luke. 

‘There is unquestionably a sense in which Origen is right in saying 
that “the thoughts” of the epistle are the thoughts of Paul. The 
writer shows the same broad conception of the universality of the 
gospel as the Apostle of the Gentiles, the same grasp of the age-long 
purpose of God wrought out through Israel, the same trust in the 
atoning work of Christ and in His present sovereignty’ (Westcott, 
Introd. p. lxxviii). Of modern commentators and biblical erities in 
favour of the Pauline authorship it will be sufficient to mention the 
eminent names of John Owen, Lardner, Bengel, Rosenmiiller, Ebrard, 
Moses Stuart, Bloomfield, Kay, Hofmann. 

On the other hand, to many and not less capable minds, it has 
seemed equally Siddomnibls that the difference in style and language 
in the Epistle to the Hebrews from that, for instance, of the Epistles 
to the Romans, Ephesians, and Philippians is such that there cannot 
be identity of authorship. Fundamentally the doctrine is the same, 
but a different tinge is given to its expression: it is that of the 
Alexandrian rather than the Palestinian school ; there is a marked 
difference in the spirit and the manner of the citations from the Old 
Testament ; of the twenty-nine direct quotations, all but three are 
from the Septuagint. Differences also may be noted in the method of 
argument and style of composition. ‘The language of Paul is rugged, 
disjointed, and impetuous, while this epistle is distinguished by 
rhetorical skill, studied antithesis, even flow of faultless grammar 






7 


i i 
. 


AUTHORSHIP OF HEBREWS 733 


and measured march of rhythmical period’ (Rendall). The strong 
personal element and character of Paul is altogether wanting here; 
nor would Paul, it is urged, who lays such stress on the fact that his 
gospel was not taught to him by any man, but by direct revelation 
(Gal 1), have classed himself among those who received the message 
of salvation from the personal disciples on the evidence of the 
miracles with which God confirmed their word, 2°. Nor is it after the 
manner of Paul, who always spoke of Timothy as his ‘son,’ to call 
him ‘brother,’ 13%. For these and other reasons, it is now gene- 
rally agreed that the epistle must be assigned to other than Pauline 


~ authorship. 


The range of possibilities as to the authorship must, in any case, 
be limited to the Pauline circle : and the writer was one who could 
fittingly speak of Timothy as ‘brother.’ Luther’s conjecture that it 
might be Apollos, based upon the description of him in Ac 1874-%8 
as a Hellenist Jew, has many supporters: among others, Tholuck, 
Bunsen, Kurtz, De Pressensé, Hilgenfeld, and Farrar. Another 
name to which prominence is given is that of Barnabas. (Tradition as 
early as the days of Tertullian ascribed it to him, and much known 
of him gives weight to the supposition that is accepted as probable by 
Ullmann, Wieseler, Weiss, Renan, Zahn, Salmon, and Godet. Certain 
resemblances in style and tone of the epistle to words and idioms 
occurring in the Third Gospel and the Acts have suggested Luke as 
the author, and to him it is attributed by Calvin, Déllinger, Delitzsch, 
and others. It has been recently surmised that Priscilla may have 
written it, Ac 187°. {Paul places her name first, Ro 16° 2 Tim 4!°, as 
though for some reason the more distinguished. So keenly disputed, 
however, are all these claims, that such authorities as Ewald, Grimm, 
Lipsius, S. Davidson are content to attribute the epistle to some 
Alexandrian Christian of name unknown. The glory of the author- 
ship, like the name of the place where the epistle was written, and 
the locality of the readers to whom it was addressed must be left in 
complete uncertainty. But while such confession of ignorance is 
disappointing, it is really, as Bishop Westcott finely says, ‘the con- 
firmation of an inspiriting faith, We acknowledge the Divine 
authority of the epistle, self-attested and ratified by the illuminated 
consciousness of the Christian society; ...and we confess that the 
wealth of spiritual power was so great in the early Church that he 
who was enabled to commit to writing this view of the fullness of the 
truth, has not by that conspicuous service even left his name for the 
grateful reverence of later ages.’ 


525. To whom addressed.—Regarding the community 
to which the epistle was primarily addressed, there are brief 


ae 
| 


allusions which may direct, if they cannot wholly decide 
our inquiry. That they were inhabitants of some particular 
city or region is indicated in 13*°. That they formed an 
organized society or church, which had existed for some 
time, having had pastors who had been removed by death, 
appears, as already observed, from 13"; and that they had 
recognized teachers to whom obedience was due, is implied 
in 13". But these remarks would almost equally apply to 
Jewish Christians in Palestine (as in Jerusalem or Czesarea) 
and to those of the Dispersion. The authority and value 
of the letter is plainly irrespective of the condition of any 
particular church. For everywhere Christians of Hebrew 
descent were exposed to the danger of falling back into 
Judaism, or of attaching too much importance to the ancient 
Law. The writer, accordingly, sets before them the supreme 
authority, the peculiar sanctions, and the transcendent glory 
of the Christian dispensation, as concurring to render un- 
belief the more inexcusable, and apostasy the more criminal 
and fatal. 

It is worthy of remark how the whole reasoning was 
fitted to those for whom the epistle was written. Address- 
ing Jews, the writer exhibits with due prominence all that 
they justly venerated ; and draws all his illustrations (12!¢-18 
1310-12-14) and examples of what is noble and excellent (11) 
from their own records and history. When about to make 
a statement at variance with Jewish views and feelings, he 
cautiously prepares their minds for it (5™); and he con- 
stantly reasons upon their own principles. The Jews had 
looked upon themselves as especially favoured in possessing 
a Divine revelation which appointed Moses as the lawgiver, 
Aaron and his race as the priests, and all the Temple rites 
as the worship of God. The writer does not overlook this 
peculiarity ; but, accommodating to it his line of proof, 
shows that the Christian faith is but the completion of 
their own. 


734 THE EPISTLES 


ee 


a i ee 


Se. - = 


HEBREWS 735 


526. Outline.—This epistle may be divided into two principal parts: 
the first, intended to explain the meaning, and prove the inferiority of 
the Jewish dispensation : the second, to confirm and comfort Jewish 
believers in their religious profession. 

1. Having noticed that the Mosaic and the Christian dispensa- 
tion both proceed from the same Divine Author, the writer shows 
the surpassing excellency of the latter, as being introduced by the 
Messiah. (1) Greater than prophets, and even than angels; notwith- 
standing His humiliation unto death, which, so far from diminishing 
His glory, was the very means of accomplishing His great work of 


_ redemption (1-2). (2) Superior to Moses, their venerated lawgiver, 


who nevertheless was but a servant. Here the writer solemnly warns 
the Hebrew Christians, lest they should lose through unbelief that 
present rest and final glory, of which the Canaan into which Joshua 
had led their forefathers was but a type (3 418). (g) Then, as the 
Jews rightly attached the highest importance to their priesthood and 
sacrifices, he expatiates at length upon the superior excellence and 
efficacy of the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ; shows that the necessary 
qualifications of a high-priest, namely, that he should be appointed by 
God and able to sympathize with men, were found in the Lord Jesus 
(439-16 510): and having cited from the prophetic Scriptures a declaration 
concerning the supreme and eternal priesthood of the Messiah as 
typified by Melchisedec, he interrupts his argument with a reproof 


to those whom he addressed for their small proficiency in Christian 


knowledge ; adding warnings and encouragements (51-6). Then, 
returning from this digression, he compares the priesthood of Christ 
with that of the Jewish high-priests in several particulars (7, 8). He 
next illustrates the emb!ematical and temporary nature of the Levitical 
services, which are realized in Christ ; compares the ministrations of 
the high-priest in the worldly sanctuary with the intercession of 
Christ in the presence of God above ; and contrasts the merely typical 
virtue of the oft-repeated Jewish sacrifices with the intrinsic and 
perpetual efficacy of the one perfect and all-sufficient propitiation 
(9 10'"**). 

2. Upon this reasoning the practical application is grounded. After 
a general exhortation to steadfastness in faith, hope, and mutual 
encouragement, the writer points out the aggravated guilt and awful 
issue of apostasy. Then, having reminded the Hebrew believers of 
their fortitude and faithful adherence under former trials, he shows 
the indispensable necessity, in order to their perseverance and salva- 
tion, of maintaining the life of faith (10o%-*°), After describing the 
nature of faith, he proves it to have been the main principle of religion 
in every age; and illustrates its powerful operation and triumphant 
efficacy in a long ‘line of heroes, martyrs, and confessors, from Abel to 


736 THE EPISTLES 


the close of the Old Testament dispensation ; and above all in Jesus 
Curist Himself, Whose temptations and sufferings were far beyond 
theirs (11 12)~*), He further encourages them by reminding them 


that their afflictions were but the discipline of a Father’s hand, and 


designed for their ultimate good (1r2*“") ; enjoins upon them tender 
mutual consideration and watchfulness ; warns them against barter- 
ing, like Esau, spiritual privileges for present gratifications (12'?~"’) : 
stimulates them, by contrasting the terrific material splendours of the 
Mosaic Law with the solemn but cheering spiritual glories of the gospel; 
and infers that, in proportion to the magnitude of their privileges, 
would be the danger of neglecting them (12'**®), 

In conclusion, he gives specific precepts on various practical duties, 
and closes with salutations and a beautifully comprehensive benedic- 
tion embodying the chief theme of the epistle—the ‘ everlasting cove- 
nant’ and the dignity and glory of Jesus the Mediator (13!~). 


527. Characteristic words and special passages.—‘The key- 
notes of the epistle,’ says Dean Farrar, ‘ are the phrases ‘‘ by how much 
more,” and ‘a better («peitrwy) covenant.”’ This word better, he 
notes, occurs in this epistle no fewer than thirteen times; whereas 
elsewhere it only occurs twice in St. Peter, and three, or perhaps four, 
times in St. Paul. See 1* 69 77-19-22 85 923 ro 1716.85.40 yo24_ 

Other leading words which indicate the characteristics of the epistle 
are Priest and Faith. The former, with its compounds, occurs upwards 
of thirty times. Of faith there is the grand and comprehensive 
description in 111-8, with the series of illustrations drawn from the Old 
Testament that form what has well been called ‘the Hymn of Faith.’ 

Setting aside the features which this epistle shares with one or 
another of the New Testament writings, it is observable that many 
words occur, not found elsewhere in the apostolic writings, a full list 
of which is given in Thayer’s Grimm’s Lexicon ; see also Bishop Westcott’s 
article on ‘Hebrews’ in Smith’s Dict. Bibl., revised edition. A noticeable 
characteristic of the style is its literary and rhetorical finish. Of this 
the writer just referred to observes: ‘it is not unlike that of the Book 
of Wisdom, but it is nowhere marred by the restless striving after 
effect which not unfrequently injures the beauty of that masterpiece 
of Alexandrine Greek.’ 

On the use in this epistle of the word ‘ eternal,’ it has been pointed 
out that ‘St. John, in his Gospel and epistles, uses this word twenty- 
three times, but invariably to qualify life; and with him it is rather 
the combination than the adjective which is characteristic. But in 
Hebrews aiwvos is used far more significantly, though less frequently. 
Jesus is Author of ‘‘eternal” salvation (5°), i.e. of final salvation, 
which has no peril beyond ; all that salvation can mean is secured by 






| 
| 


THE CATHOLIC EPISTLES 737 


Him. The elements of Christianity include preaching on “eternal” 
judgement (67), i. e. a judgement which has the character of finality, 
from which there is no appeal, beyond which there is no fear or no 
hope. Christ has obtained ‘“ eternal” redemption for us (9!) ; not 
a redemption like that which was annually achieved for Israel, and 
which had to be annually repeated, as though its virtue faded away, 
but a redemption the validity of which abides for ever. Christ has 
offered Himself through “eternal spirit” (9"), i. e. in Christ’s sacrifice 
we see the final revelation of what God is, that behind which there is 
nothing in God ; so that the religion which rests on that sacrifice rests 
on the ultimate truth of the Divine nature, and can never be shaken. 
Those who are called receive the promise of the ‘*‘ eternal ” inheritance 
(9%), not an earthly Canaan, in which they are strangers and pilgrims, 
and from which they may be exiled, but the city which has the foun- 
dations, from which God’s people go no more out. And, finally, the 
blood of Christ is the blood of an “eternal” covenant (137°), i.e. in 
the death of Christ a religious relation is constituted between God 
and men which has the character of finality. God—if it may be so 
expressed—has spoken His last words. He has nothing in reserve, 
the foundation has been laid of the kingdom which can never be 
removed. It is this conception of absoluteness or finality in every- 
thing Christian which dominates the book.'—The Death’ of Christ, by 
James Denney, D.D. (1902), pp. 207, 208. 


Yur Seven ‘CatHoiic EpistueEs.’ 


528. We have now arrived at the epistles called Catholic 
or General, viz. those ascribed, respectively, to James, 
Peter, John, and Jude. The title of this group is of ancient 
origin, dating from the second century, and is usually 
supposed to have been given to distinguish these epistles 
from those of Paul addressed either to separate churches, or 
directly to individuals. Strictly speaking three only are 
general in their character, viz. 2 Peter, 1 John, and Jude. 
The objection that the Second and Third of John certainly 
can lay no claim to the title ‘general’ is regarded by Dr. Gloag 
as met by the assertion that these epistles were considered 
merely as an appendix to the principal epistle. Of the title 
catholic he says, ‘In process of time it became a technical 


3 EB 


738 THE EPISTLES 


term, used to designate that group of epistles as distinguished 
from the other three groups of writings in the New Testa- 
ment, viz. the Gospels and Acts, the Pauline Epistles, 
including Hebrews, and the Apocalypse; and thus lost in 
a measure its primary meaning.’ 


General Epistle of James 
Jerusalem A.D. 45 or 62. 


529. The Writer._There were two Apostles named 
James or Jacob; one of whom was the son of Zebedee and 
the brother of John, and was put to death by Herod Agrippa, 
as related in Ac 12*; the other, called James the Less, or 
the Little (Mk 15*°), probably in allusion to his stature, was 
the son of Alpheus or Clopas (see Mt ro® Mk 3% Ac 118 
Lu 24'*). 

The latter of these has been generally supposed to have written the 
epistle. That James ‘the brother of the Lord’ was the author is held 


with practical unanimity by Biblical scholars, But whether the two 
were identical has been gravely doubted. Those who hold the 





affirmative read ‘brother’ as ‘cousin,’ and regard Mary the wife of — 


Clopas as sister of Mary the mother of Jesus, a double unlikelihood ; 


and modern opinion inclines to the belief that ‘the Lord’s brother’ 
was not one of the Twelve. The question has been fully discussed by 
Bishop Lightfoot (Galatians, Diss. ii. p. 241), and by Dr. J. B. Mayor 
(Bpistle of St. James, Introd.), and the conclusion seems fairly estab- 
lished that this James, known as ‘James the Just,’ was a son of 
Joseph and Mary, converted after the Lord’s Resurrection, and sub- 
sequently chief pastor of the church in Jerusalem: see Mk 6° Jn 7° 
1 Cor 157 Ac 127 1535 2135 Gal 2°. The martyrdom of this James in 
Jerusalem is recorded by Josephus, Ant. xx. 9. 1, and by Hegesippus 
the ecclesiastical historian (apud Euseb. ii. 23). 


Date of the Epistle.—Indications there are that this 
epistle was written at a very early date. Many recent 
authorities regard it as the earliest of all the epistles, and 
assign it to about a. p. 45 (Neander, Alford, Salmon, Weiss, 


JAMES 739 


Plumptre, Gloag, Mayor). They argue that the epistle could 
not have been written after the council at Jerusalem with- 
out some allusion to what was then decided; and, further, 
because the non-recognition of Gentile Christians in the 
use of the term ‘synagogue’ (27) for a place of Christian 
worship, the expectation of the speedy coming of Christ, 
and the marked absence of anything like developed Christian 
_ doctrine are regarded as indications of an early date. Those 
who assign a later date to the epistle regard it as probably 
written by James shortly before his martyrdom, a. p. 62 or 
63, and as designed to correct certain perversions of Paul’s 
doctrine of justification by faith (Bleek, Ewald, Pfleiderer, 
Wordsworth, Farrar). 


The letter, it is noteworthy, is addressed to Christians in the twelve 
tribes of the Dispersion (R.V.). 


530. Contents.—As they were in trying circumstances, the inspired 
writer begins with encouragements and counsels specially suited to 
their condition (11), He then describes the nature of true religion, 
in its origin, and in its effects upon the heart and the conduct (116-*7); 
enjoins sincere and impartial love, without reference to outward con- 
dition and circumstances (2'~!*); and exposes the hypocrisy of the 
man who pretends to have faith, while his works do not answer to 
his words ; quoting Scripture examples to show that the faith which 
God had approved had been always evidenced by works (24-7). Then, 
to check some prevailing evils arising from a fondness for becoming 
teachers and censors, he gives cautions and rebukes on those subjects. 
He exhibits, in a series of striking metaphors, the evils of an un- 
bridled tongue; and contrasts the disputatious, envious, and angry 
spirit of the schools of earthly wisdom with the pure, peaceful, gentle, 
and beneficent character of that which is of heavenly origin (3). He 
exposes the effects of the spirit of the world, as exhibited in the 
conduct of those who are under its influence; and exhorts to sub- 
mission to God and resistance to the devil. He calls sinners and 
hypocrites to repent, and to humble themselves before God; and 
warns Christians against speaking evil, censuring, or sitting in judge- 
ment upon each other (41-12). He reproves the presumption of those 
who formed their worldly projects without any sense cf their depend- 
ence upon God; and the covetousness and oppression of the rich 
(48-17 51-6), Then, returning to the suffering Christians, he en- 
courages them to patience by the prospect of the Lord’s coming ; 

3.5 2 


740 THE EPISTLES , 


cautions them against swearing; recommends prayer as the best 
resource in sorrow, and praise as the best expression of joy; gives 
special directions to the sick; enjoins mutual confessions of faults 
and intercessions for each other; the efficacy of which he illustrates 
in the case of Elijah; and, finally, urges the duty of seeking to save 
an erring brother; and shows the blessed consequence of such an 
effort where successful (5'~?°). 

The epistle well illustrates the importance of comparing Scripture 
with Scripture. According to James, Abraham was justified ‘by 
works’ (2*') ; according to Paul, ‘by faith’(Ro 4°). Yet there is no con- 
tradiction, but a deep interior harmony. This, unfortunately, Luther 
could not see, when he called the epistle ‘ straw.’ 

Eusebius speaks of this epistle as at first questioned in the Church. 
In the East, however, it was received from the beginning; and its 
canonicity was at length universally acknowledged. See Jerome, 
Augustine, and the Council of Carthage, a.p. 397. 


531. Key-words and unusual expressions.—‘ Wisdom’ is one of 
the key-words of this epistle, and its style may be compared with that 
of the wisdom literature (Chokhmah) of the Old Testament. See 1°-* 
and 3'5—* for the enumeration of the qualities of false wisdom and the 
true. Note likewise the prominence given to faith and works; to 
prayer, 15-7 485-18; to temptation, 1™!!'4; and, notwithstanding the 
severity of the style of address in the epistle, the constant recurrence 
of the word ‘brethren.* There are close resemblances between the 
epistle and our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. 

Among peculiar and unusual expressions are—‘ driven by the wind 
and tossed,’ 1°; ‘a doubleminded man’ (dvip 5ivyos), literally a two- 
souled man, ‘ unstable,’ 18; ‘scorching wind’ («xatcov), 1%; * cannot be 
tempted ’ (dmeipacrés éo71), 1°; ‘the Father of lights,’ 17; ‘shadow of 
turning’ (tponjs drockiacya), i.e. shadow caused by turning, 17; 
‘shudder,’ 2°; ‘the wheel of nature’ or ‘of birth’ (rpoxds ris yevécews), 
3°; ‘heaviness’ (xarnpea), literally the downcast look of sorrow, 4°; 
the exclamation ‘Go to’ (dye), 5, or ‘come; come now,’ employed to 
call attention ; ‘rusted’ or tarnished, 5°. 

Of special passages observe that in ch. 1 on the sources of eyil and 
of good in man, and that on respect of persons ; with the famous passage 
on justification in ch. 2; and in ch. 3 on the responsibility of speech, 
and the qualities of the earthly wisdom and the wisdom from above. 





I PETER 741 


First Epistle General of Peter 


‘ Babylon,’ c. A. D. 64. 


532. The Writer.—Peter, whose original name was 
Simeon or Simon, was a native of Bethsaida, on the Sea of 
Galilee ; and the son of Jonas (or John, R. V.), whence he 
is called Barjonah (R. V.), Mt 1617. At the time of his first 
appearance in the gospel history he was married, and living 
at Capernaum, Mk 17-*°; and, like the sons of Zebedee, 
followed the occupation of a fisherman. He was brought to 
Jesus by his brother Andrew, who had been a disciple of 
John the Baptist, but was led by his master’s testimony to 
attach himself to the Divine Teacher. For some time after 
this, the two brothers continued to follow their business, 
until they were summoned by our Lord to be in constant 
attendance upon Him, Mt 4'%-2°; after which they were 
His devoted followers. 

The numerous facts related of Peter during his attendance upon our 
Saviour throw much light upon his character at that period. His 
sincere piety, ardent attachment to his Master, and zeal for His 
honour, seem to have been blended with rashness and inconstancy ; 
but, after his fall and restoration, and when ‘endued with power 
from on high,’ a great change is observable in him. So that he fully 
justifies the appellation which our Lord had prophetically bestowed 
on him, calling him Cephas or Petros ; the former an Aramaic, the latter 
a Greek word, both signifying a stone or rock. Immediately after the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter was honoured by being com- 
missioned to open the gates of the kingdom of heaven first to the Jews, 
and afterwards, in the case of Cornelius and his family, to the 
Gentiles, 

These facts do not imply that he had any supreme dignity ; while 
Mt 23° Gal 2? plainly prove that he had not—a conclusion which the 
testimony of antiquity confirms. 


His Later Life.—Of the latter part of Peter’s life nothing 
is known with certainty ; but it is supposed that, after his 
visit to Antioch, mentioned Gal 2", he remained at 


742 THE EPISTLES 


Jerusalem for some years, and then visited Syria and the 
countries mentioned in the inscription of this epistle, which 
he wrote when he had gone into the Parthian empire. It 
is said by some that he afterwards went to Rome and was 
there put to death by crucifixion, in fulfilment of the 
prophecy of our Lord respecting him, Jn 21'§. Others 
maintain that he died in Babylonia. Both parties, how- 
ever, agree that he was put to death in Nero’s reign, in the 
persecutions excited by that emperor. 


His alleged residence in Rome.—'hree different opinions have 
been maintained as to whether Peter ever was at Rome. By some, 
especially by Roman Catholic historians, it is alleged that Peter was 
for twenty-five years in Rome, and that he was bishop of the church 
there. By others it is denied that he was ever at Rome at all; while 
by a third class of writers it is admitted that the Apostle may possibly 
have gone to Rome, a short time before his death, in the brief interval 
between the date of Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy and his martyr- 
dom. The last, considering the weight of traditionary testimony, 
seems to be the most probable opinion. The subject of Peter’s connexion 
with Rome is fully discussed in Farrar’s Early Days of Christianity, 
in Dr. Gloag’s Introduction to the Catholic Epistles, and in Dr. Chase's 
article on Simon Peter in Hastings’ Dict. of the Bible. 


This epistle is generally assigned to between A. D. 64 and 
67, the latter being the date of the traditional martyrdom 
of Peter, and the former subsequent to the epistles of Paul 
to the Romans and to the Ephesians, with the language and 
arguments of which Peter was evidently acquainted. 


533. Destination of the Epistle.—This epistle was 
addressed to the Jewish Christians of ‘the Dispersion’ 
throughout the different provinces of Asia Minor; yet not 
altogether without reference to the numerous Gentile con- 
verts which those churches contained (11 4°). It appears 
to have been written from ‘ Babylon’ (5'°), which some have 
supposed to be a mystical name for Rome. 


This notion has been favoured not only by writers of the Church 
of Rome, but by numerous Protestant authorities, e.g. Lardner, 





I PETER 743 


Olshausen, Hofmann, Ewald, Schaff, Salmon, Cook, Farrar, Ramsay, 


and Moffatt. Early ecclesiastical writers accepted the interpretation, 
regarding it as confirmed by the name of Babylon being applied to 
Rome in the Book of Revelation (14°). Further, there is no definite 
information that Peter ever was in Babylon, nor of a Christian church 
existing there. On the other hand, there is no conclusive evidence 
that at the time the epistle was written the name Babylon was ever 
given to Rome; nor can any conclusive reason be assigned why such 
a name should at that time be applied to it; or why Peter should 
choose a figurative name, which, though adapted to a symbolical style, 
is plainly unsuited to epistolary writing. In the opinion, therefore, 
of Erasmus, Calvin, Bengel, Neander, Lightfoot, Pearson, Alford, &c., 
it has appeared most reasonable to take the name as it stands for 
Babylon on the Euphrates. Others, amongst them Hatch, Gloag, Dods, 
regard it as still an open question where the epistle was written. 
Certainly the order of the names in 1 is rather that in which 
they would appear from the west (Rome) than from the south-east 
(Babylon). 


534. Its character and contents.— This epistle is well 
described by Leighton, as ‘a brief and yet very clear 
summary, both of the consolations and instructions needful 
for the encouragement and direction of a Christian in his 
journey to heaven; elevating his thoughts and desires to 
that happiness, and strengthening him against all opposition 
in the way, both that of corruption within, and temptation 
and afflictions from without. The heads of doctrine con- 
tained in it are many; but the main that are most insisted 
on are these three, faith, obedience, and patience ; to establish 
in believing, to direct in doing, and to comfort in suffering ; 
often setting before those to whom he wrote the matchless 
example of the Lord Jesus, and the greatness of their 
engagements to follow him.’ 

The general object of the epistle is stated in 512, and the whole may 
be divided into two parts, exclusive of the salutation (117), intro- 
duction (°12), and conclusion (5'*1*). 

1. General exhortations to love and holiness (1!3-21°), 

Antitypes of Judaism.—In this portion of the epistle it is especially 


shown how the distinctions and privileges of the ancient Church are 
not lost, but reproduced in a higher form, and conferred upon all 


744 THE EPISTLES 


believers. They are a chosen generation, and their election is in Christ, 
1°; they have a land of promise, incorruptible and unfading, as their 
‘inheritance,’ 1*; they are a people for God’s own possession, 2°; the Temple 
remains, a spiritual house, with Christ the corner-stone, 2°; they 
have an Altar and a Sacrifice, the precious blood of Christ, 17*°; while 
they themselves are a holy and royal Priesthood, 2°*; and the Prophets 
themselves wrote and spoke for the Christian Church. There are in 
this epistle proportionally more quotations from the ancient Serip- 
tures than in any other book of the New Testament. . 

2. Particular exhortations on specific duties (2-5). 

While the epistle has thus a practical design, it is as evangelical as 
if it had been chiefly doctrinal. It points everywhere to Christ; to 
His atonement foretold by prophets, contemplated by angels appointed 
before the foundation of the world; to His resurrection, ascension, 
and gift of the Spirit; His example as a suffering Saviour, and the 
awful solemnities of the last judgement. Like Paul, he urges the 
doctrines of the gospel as the great motives to holiness and patience ; 
like him he descends to the enforcement of every relative duty, while 
giving the most exalted view of our privileges as believers in Christ. 

His honourable notice of Paul (2 Pet 3"), who had publicly re- 
proved him, and recorded that reproof in his Epistle to the Galatians, 
to whom Peter himself was now writing, Gal 2" x Pet 1 2 Pet 3', 
is a manifestation of true humility. He illustrates in this way his 
own precept, r Pet 5°, and had clearly not forgotten the lessons of the 
last days of our Lord. His explicit reference to Christ as the true 
corner-stone of the Church, 2*’, seems to betoken allusion to the 
name which had been conferred upon him, and by anticipation to 
refute the inference drawn from it that Peter is the foundation. 


535. Leading ideas and peculiarities of expression.—Hope is the 
leading idea and subject of the epistle. Hope founded on the Resur- 
rection ; not a dead, but an energizing hope, such as the Resurrection 
had wrought in the Apostles by dispelling their despair (Farrar) ; 
a hope life-giving, and looking to life (De Wette), of which the Resur- 
rection was ‘not only the exemplar, but the efficient cause.’ Cf. 
15-6.7.9.11.13 &¢, With this is linked the duty of patience under suffer- 
ing and trial, 1®7 219-21 315-18 412.1819, 

Another prominent feature of the epistle is the use of the term grace 
as the designation of the whole Christian revelation, corresponding 
with the epistle ‘to the Ephesians.’ See 1115 37 410 512, 

The practical nature of the epistle is seen in the frequency of the 
expression fo do good, 2141520 g11.13.16.17 419, 

Many words, never or rarely used by other New Testament writers, 
occur in this epistle, which in their vividness of expression recall the 






II PETER 745 


touches of graphic description, generally ascribed to Peter, in Mark’s 
Gospel: ‘That fadeth not away,’ unwithering (duapavros), 14 ; ama- 
ranthine (dyapaytivos), 5*; ‘ without respect of persons,’ 17, ef. Ac 10%, 
‘Spiritual milk which is without guile,’ 2%, R.V. spiritual, un- 
adulterated milk (Farrar). ‘An example’ (imoypaypds), 271, literally 
a copy traced by the master, over which the scholar was to write. 
*A busybody’ (meddler, R. V.) in other men’s matters, 4, is the 
rendering of one expressive word (daAAortpioéricxomos) that indicates 
aman prying into and overseeing everybody’s business but his own. 
Farrar translates it ‘other people’s bishop.’ The title ‘Chief-’ or 
Arch-Shepherd applied to Christ, 5*, is also peculiar to this epistle. So 
also the remarkable expression, 5° ‘Gird yourselves with humility,’ 
literally as with a sort of frock or apron (éy«éu8wya), worn especially by 
slaves to keep the under garment clean, the verb used being éy- 
kopBoopat. 

The passage 3'—** contains thoughts and expressions peculiar to 
this epistle : Christ preaching to ‘the spirits in prison’ (év puAakn) ; 
baptism as the ‘interrogation’ (R. V. éwepwrnua) of a good conscience 
toward God. 


Second Epistle General of Peter 
Between a.p. 64 and 68. 


536. Destination and Purpose of the Epistle.—The 
epistle is addressed to all believers (11), and especially to 
the same persons as the former (31). It was written not 
long before the Apostle’s martyrdom (1), a circumstance 
that gives it a solemn interest. 

As in the earlier epistle he exhorts to patience under 
persecution, so here he exhorts to perseverance in truth 
amidst prevailing error and practical infidelity. The best 
preservative is, as he tells them, progressive piety (13): 
decisive evidence of the truth of Scripture doctrine being 
given also by irrefragable testimony and fulfilled prophecy 
(116-21), In terms most energetic and awful he warns false 
teachers, and those who were beginning to yield to their 
seductions, of their guilt and danger (2'~**), and assures 


746 THE EPISTLES 


them that the second coming of the Lord, though long ; 


delayed, through long-suffering, is as certain as the fact of 
the Deluge (3!~*). He then exhibits the bright side of the 
same truth, and bids Christians be diligent and holy (3471). 
Appealing to Paul’s teaching, in confirmation of his views, 
he marks how men had wrested his teaching so as to make 
it countenance most pernicious practices, an evil to be 
remedied not by neglecting those Scriptures, but by increased 
teachableness and humility (3!°-1°). 


Who were the heretics condemned in this epistle is not certainly 
known. Probably no definite sect is referred to, but corrupters of 
the Christian Church, whose errors subsequently developed into the 
various forms of reckless immorality and extravagant asceticism 
known as Antinomian gnosticism. Their licentious practices (2'°), 
their covetousness, their denial of the Lord (21), their promises of 
freedom (2"°) are clearly defined, and serve to connect the advocates of 
such views with those mentioned (in nearly the same terms through- 
out) by Jude and by John, Rev 2", &e. 


537. Question of its authenticity.—The absence of reference to 
the epistle in the earliest Christian writers, and its enumeration 
among the Eusebian Antilegomena or disputed books (Part I, § 37), 
have given rise to grave doubts as to its Petrine authorship. Differences 
in tone and style from the first epistle have also caused its genuine- 
ness to be questioned even by such commentators as Calvin, Erasmus, 
Grotius, and in later times by Neander, Credner, Huther, Hatch, and 
Farrar. The large majority of commentators, including such recent 
authorities as Alford, Plummer, Cook, Lumby, Salmon, and Bigg, 
accept the epistle as a genuine work of Peter. With the points of 
difference between the epistles there are also remarkable points of 
resemblance. Similarity in style and sentiment is recognized in this 
and the first epistle, and also in the recorded speeches of Peter. The 
same striking peculiarities of pictorial expressions characteristic of 
Peter’s utterances elsewhere appear here. Difference of purpose must 
also be noted, to account for difference in treatment of subject; the first 
epistle being chiefly hortatury and the second polemical. ‘ Besides,’ 
observes Dr. Gloag, ‘it is to be remembered that the Fathers of the 
fourth century, when the canon of the New Testament was fixed, 
had many more grounds to go upon than we possess... and it was 
only as the result of careful examination that any writing was 
admitted as part of the canonical Scriptures.’ 






Il PETER | 747 


Among the peculiarities of this epistle is the remarkable resemblance 
of certain passages, especially in the second chapter, to the Epistle of 
Jude. It is impossible to resist the conclusion, either that one writer 
drew from the other, or both from a common source, oral or documen- 
tary. The preponderance of opinion in modern times is that Jude 
was the original ; so Neander, Credner, De Wette, Ewald, Lechler, and 
Reuss, and amongst English scholars Alford, Farrar, Plumptre, Eadie, 
and Salmon; while the opinion of Luther, Michaelis, Bengel, Stier, 
and Hengstenberg that Peter’s is the earlier epistle has the support of 

Hofmann, Luthardt. Wordsworth, Plummer, Lumby, Mareus Dods, 
and Bigg. It is perhaps impossible to come to a definite conclusion 
on the question, nor indeed is it important. 


538. Special words and phrases.—‘ Knowledge’ (yv@ats or éniyvwois) 
is the key-note of this epistle: cf. 1° 27° 3!8 This knowledge is the 
central point of the Christian life, both theoretically and practically 
considered. Interesting and important as a sign of identity in author- 
ship of this and the first epistle is the recurrence of the word ‘holy,’ 
about fifteen times in all; eight times in the first, six times in the 
second epistle. In both epistles we meet with the word ‘ conversa- 
tion,’ i.e. manner of life, 1 Pet 11-17-18 912 31-216 2 Pet 27-18 311; also 
the remarkable term ‘ virtue’ applied to God, 1 Pet 2° 2Pet 1°. The 
same view of ancient prophecy is given in both epistles, cf. 1 Pet 11°“? 
2 Pet 11°21 32, The new birth by the word of God, 1 Pet 1”? 27, 
is found again in 2 Pet 1+. 

The same characteristic duplication of terms appears in the second 
epistle as in the first: ‘precious and exceeding great promises,’ 1* ; 
‘be not idle nor unfruitful,’ 15; ‘he is blind, seeing only what is near,’ 
19; ‘daring, self-willed,’ 2!°; ‘spots and blemishes,’ 2'°; ‘the day of 
judgement and destruction,’ 37; ‘without spot and blameless,’ 3%; 
‘the ignorant and unstable,’ 3'°. 

Graphic expressions, words which call up a picture to the mind as 
we read them, abound in both epistles. The following are a few 
examples from the second epistle : ‘One who cannot see afar’ (uuwma- 
(wv), 1°, literally ‘one who has his eyes tight closed,’ either from 
intention or weakness of sight ; ‘tabernacle,’ 11°14, i.e. the body, as 
the tabernacle of the soul; ‘eyewitness,’ 11°, frequently used by 
heathen writers of those who have been admitted by initiation into 
the highest mysteries of their religious worship ; ‘day-star’ (pwapédpos), 
1, the light-bringer; ‘feigned’ (wAaarés), 2°, that can be moulded or 
bent any way, plastic; ‘to cast down to hell’ (taprapéw), 2*, to cast 
down to Tartarus; ‘chains’ or ‘pits’ (R.V. ‘of darkness’), 2*; ‘turning 
into ashes’ (reppwoas), 2°; ‘to vex’ (Bacavifew), 2%, literally ‘to put to 
the torture’; ‘with a great noise ’ (por(nddv), 31°, but the word implies 


748 THE EPISTLES * 





the hustling of weapons, or the plash of many waters; ‘ with fervent 
heat’ (xavodw), 31°; ‘to wrest’ (orpeBAdw) 31, literally ‘to put on the 
rack,’ 

What have been called ‘the retrospective allusions ’ in the language 
of the epistle should be noted as quite in accord with the simple, out- 
spoken character of Peter, e. g. his reference to the narrative of the 
Transfiguration ; his use of the words ‘ tabernacle,’ ‘ decease,’ literally 
‘ exodus,’ 11°, cf. Lu 9*!, and of the fisherman’s expression, ‘to catch 
with a bait.’ Thus he speaks (2!) of ‘beguiling (literally “ laying 
a bait for”) unstable souls,’ and ‘they allure (set a bait) through the 
lusts of the flesh,’ 2!%. 


We treasure up the last words of great men. In the 
immediate prospect of martyrdom, holiness appears to Peter 
of the first importance, and steadfastness the greatest blessing. 
His last precept is, ‘Grow in the grace and knowledge of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,’ and his last testimony 
is to the Divinity of his Lord, ‘To Him be the glory both 
now and for ever. Amen,’ 3!° R. V. 


General Epistle of Jude 


cir. A.D. 67 or 68. 


539. The Writer.—Jude (Judas), the author of this 
epistle, describes himself as the ‘ brother of James,’ but does 
not tell us of which James. Amongst the Apostles there 
were two who bore this name—James the son of Zebedee, 
and James the son of Alpheus, Mt 10* Lu 61°; and in 
addition to these, there was also James ‘the brother of our 
Lord,’ Gal 1! (see Introd. to the Epistle of James). 


Some identify the author of the present epistle with the Apostle 
‘Judas, not Iscariot,’ Jn 142, known also as Lebbzeus, Mt 10% (A. V.), and 
Thaddeus, Mt 10°, though in Lu 6'* the R.V., according to the customary 
rendering of the idiom, has ‘son of James.’ This was the opinion of 
the Fathers in general, and is adopted by Winer, Hofmann, Lange, 
Kiel, Tregelles, and Wordsworth. Others oppose this view, arguing 
that if Jude had been an Apostle, he would have spoken of himself as 





JUDE 749 


such, instead of describing himself as the brother of some one else. 
Further, the reference in verse 17 seems to imply that the writer was 
not one of their number. More likely it is that the brothers, James, 
bishop of the church at Jerusalem, and this Judas, were the brethren 
of our Lord referred to in Mt 13°. This opinion now finds most 
acceptance amongst expositors. 

Beyond such personal characteristics as are suggested by the epistle, 
little or nothing is known of Jude. One incident of interest, not about 
himself, but about his descendants, is related by Eusebius (Eccles. Hist. 

iii. 20, 32). Two of Jude’s grandsons, it is said, were summoned before 
- Domitian, for this emperor was as much alarmed at the appearance of 
Christ as Herod. He had heard they were of the royal family of 
David, and they admitted their descent. But when he learned that 
their whole property was only thirty-nine plethra of land, i.e. about 
nine acres, saw that their hands were hardened by labour, and heard 
that the kingdom which they expected was not to be in this present 
world, he dismissed them as simpletons whose cause need no longer be 
feared. 


540. Purport, Contents, and Date.—The epistle is 
addressed to Christians in general, ‘to them that are called, 
beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ’; 
probably with special thought of Jewish Christians in 
Palestine, as the allusions in the epistle presuppose acquaint- 
ance not only with the Old Testament scriptures, but with 
Jewish traditions, as shown below. Reference has already 
been made (§ 537) to the remarkable resemblance between 
this epistle and the second chapter of Peter’s second epistle: 
on the whole, it seems probable that Jude was the earlier. 

About the year a. p. 67 or 68 may, then, be assumed as 
the probable date of the epistle. No reference appears in 
it to Jerusalem’s overthrow, which assuredly would have 
been referred to among the instances cited of God’s retribu- 
tive justice had it occurred before this epistle was written. 
The description of the errors prevailing suggests a late 
rather than an early date in apostolic times for its com- 
position. 


The design of the epistle is clearly to guard the Christian Church 
against false teachers, who resolved all religion into speculative 


750 THE EPISTLES 


belief and outward profession, and sought to allure the disciples into 
insubordination and licentiousness. The whole may be divided into 
two parts: the first descriptive of the punishment, verses 5-7; the 
second, of the character of these seducers, verses 8-19. To guard 
the disciples against being led astray by them, the Apostle refers to the 
Israelites who had perished in the wilderness, to the angels who had 
fallen from their original dignity, and the cities of the plain which 
had been made an example of Divine vengeance; and shows that 
a similar fate awaited those wicked seducers. He reminds them that 
it had been predicted that such persons should arise in the last period 
of the world; exhorts them to steadfastness and prayer, and to efforts 
for the salvation of others; and concludes with an ascription of praise 
to Him Who alone could preserve them from falling. 

Ungodly men have many pleas to urge in arrest of judgement. 
‘They had experienced deliverance’: but so had Israel, verse 5. 
‘They had lived near to God, and His favour had exalted them’: so 
had the lost angels, verse6. ‘They but yielded to natural propensity’: 
so did Sodom, verse 7. Thus may the Old Testament be used to illus- 
trate the New, and facts to prove principles. 

Extra-Biblical illustrations.—For purposes of illustration Jude, as 
Paul in certain instances (2 Tim 3° Ac 17*8 Tit 1}*), quotes from other 
than scriptural sources. The reference to the dispute between Michael 
and the devil about the body of Moses is said to be taken from 
The Assumption or Ascension of Moses, a Jewish apocalyptic work, written, 
it is supposed, about a. D. 50, fragments only of which are extant *. 
The Ethiopie Book of Enoch, quoted in verse 14, was well known in 
New Testament times, and coincidences of thought and language are 
found in some of the Pauline Epistles, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
and in the Apocalypse. Its production is traced to the second and 
first centuries B. c. as belonging to a class of apocalyptic literature asso- 
ciated with the name of Enoch. The work consists of five parts or 
books, multifarious in character, and abounding in interpolations of 
presumably later date 


541. Expressions and allusions peculiar to this Epistle.—The 
following expressions, among others, are peculiar to this epistle :— 
‘To contend earnestly for’ (émayavifec@a), verse 3; ‘our common 
salvation,’ verse 3 (see R. V.), ef. Tit 1*; ‘the faith once for all (see 
R. VY.) delivered to the saints,’ verse 3; ‘to creep in unawares,’ 
‘privily’ R. V. (mape:odvvev), verse 4; ‘ naturally’ (pvowds), verse Io ; 


® See Deane’s Pseudepigrapha, p. 95; Gloag’s Introduction to the Catholic 
Episties, art. ‘ Jude.’ 

> See Bishop Lawrence's version, 7e Book of Enoch, p. 49; also Gloag, 
as above, Dillmann, Das Buch Henoch, and Drummond's The Jewish Messiah. 






I JOHN 751 


‘feasts of charity,’ ‘love-feasts’ R. V. (ayama), verse 12; ‘whose fruit 
withereth’ (p@worwpivés, autumnal), verse 12 ; ‘wandering’ (mAavnr7s), 
verse 13; ‘to keep from falling,’ ‘to guard from stumbling’ R. V. 
(amratorous), verse 24; ‘before all time’ R. V. (mpd mavrds Tod aidyvos), 
verse 25. 

The writer’s fondness for triplets is noteworthy. Observe the three-_ 
fold salutation and threefold benediction, versesr,2. Three examples 
of Divine retribution are cited, the unbelieving Israelites, the rebel 
angels, and the cities of the plain, verses 5-7. Three types of wicked- 
ness, Cain, Balaam, Korah, verse 11. Three classes of evil-doers, 
murmurers, discontented, self-willed, verse 16. Three exhortations to 
Christians, to pray, to keep, to look forward, verses 20, 21. Three 
modes of Christian service towards the erring (see R. V.), ‘on some 
have mercy, who are in doubt’; ‘some save, snatching them out of the 
fire’ ; ‘on some have mercy with fear,’ verses 22,23. Doxology (R. V.) 
‘before all time, and now, and for evermore,’ verse 25. 


First Epistle (General) of John 


Towards the close of the first century. 


542. Character and Destination of the Epistle.—This 
sacred writing, though called an epistle, has more of the 
character of a discourse on the doctrines and duties of 
Christianity. It appears to have been addressed to believers 
generally, especially to Gentiles and residents in Asia 
Minor, among whom John himself had laboured (27-17-14. 
20-27), The writer had not deemed it necessary to prefix his 
name; but its remarkable similarity, both in matter and 
expressions, to the other writings of the Apostle John, 
confirms the testimony of the early Christians, and affords 
satisfactory evidence that he was its author. It was cer- 
tainly written by an eyewitness of the person and labours 
of our Lord (11-* 4). It is commonly supposed to have 
been written from Ephesus, but at what precise date is 
uncertain ; a late date is highly probable from the errors 
which are here condemned. Ewald suggests a.D. go, and 
Prof. Ramsay a. D. go-I00. 


752 THE EPISTLES 


A warning against prevailing errors.—It was eyi- 
dently one object of this epistle to counteract errors already 
prevalent. Some, whose errors were those of the Ebionites 
and of Cerinthus, questioned the Divine dignity of our Lord, 
and denied Him to be the Son of God. These the Apostle 
calls deceivers and antichrist (2° 42° 51). Others denied 
His humanity, thus contradicting the real fellowship of 
Christ with men (Heb 2'° 415), and the reality of His death 
and propitiation. His incarnation was, as they held, but an 
appearance, and the story of His life a myth. This delusion 
the Apostle strongly denounces (4°), and declares that he 
had himself felt with his hand the body of his Lord (z4), 
and alludes in decisive terms to the water and blood from 
His pierced side (5°). » A third party seem to have held that 
it was enough to worship God with the spirit, and that the 
body might have all possible indulgence. This immoral 
creed the Apostle refutes by showing that every sin is real 
transgression (3); that fellowship with God purifies the 
Christian, and that by this purity only can we be recog- 
nized as His (2° 3°10 4}8 51}), 

The errors which are thus rebuked early ripened into heresy, and 
their advocates were known by different names (see § 475, 3,) e.g. 
the ‘ Docetists,’ who maintained that Christ had only an apparent 
body, not a real humanity ; the ‘Manicheans,’ who regarded evil as 
an attribute of matter; and the ‘Nicolaitans’ (Rev.), whose tenets 
involved compliances with heathenism, from a spurious liberality 
(Ramsay). Whether these various forms of error had made such pro- 
gress as to have formed defined sects at the time this epistle was 
written is doubtful; but its contents are such as refute these and 
similar theories, both of ancient and modern times, and in this 
respect it possesses peculiar value. 

543. The principal truths enforced.—While the cor- 
rection of prevalent error was clearly one aim of this 
epistle, it was not the only, perhaps not the chief aim. 
Other topics are introduced and discussed of the deepest 
interest, and to these the correction of error seems regarded 
as subordinate. 














I JOHN 753 


1. We are taught the true nature of fellowship with God 
(r°). He is light (15) and love; and fellowship implies 
conformity to Him: light, and therefore man must be 
purified and redeemed (17-27): light, and therefore man 
- must be holy (2°"): love, and therefore we must love one 
another (27). Let, however, Christ be denied, and all these 
blessings are lost (2??~*+), 

2. We are taught the blessedness and duties of sonship. 
Not only fellowship, but adoption is our privilege in Christ : 
and again we are led to the same results. God is righteous: 
as His children we too must be righteous (27°-3%). Christ 
came to take away sin; and in Him is no sin; to Him we 
must be conformed (341°). He gave His life for us, and 
herein His love is our model (3!!~78). Having His Spirit we 
shall share His other blessings (3!°~*4). Again, let Christ 
be denied, in His human nature especially, and these 
blessings are lost (3!°-4°). 

3. He had begun with the truth that God is light, and 
thence shown what fellowship with Him and sonship in- 
volve ; now he gives another view. (od is love (47-8). Love © 
is His essence, was manifested in the mission and character 
of His Son, and is the necessary condition of sonship (52?). 
Love to God and one another, faith in Christ, such confi- 
dence as casts out fear, are all among the results which this 
revelation secures. Only let us truly believe that God 
gives eternal life, and that life in His Son (54—}), and we 
become holy and happy; we are forgiven and sanctified. 
Reject this truth or any part of it, and we are left without 
hope. Like the world we lie in wickedness (515). 

Very beautiful is it to mark how from the holiness (light) 
and love of God the Apostle gathers the doctrine of propitia- 
tion, and proves the necessity of holiness. Compare 1°-2!! 
and 47—}, 

Charity and severity.—The general character of this epistle pro- 
bably gave occasion to the opinion early entertained that John was of 


3c 


754 THE EPISTLES 





a peculiarly affectionate disposition; and this opinion seemsjust. Yet 
none has spoken of false doctrine more sharply. The gentlest Christian 
may be a son of thunder (Mk 3") when Christ's honour is at stake ; 
and charity may be exercised in denouncing sin as well as in loving 
the brethren. 

The truth underlying the whole epistle is the necessity of holiness,as _ 
the evidence and fruit of faith, 1° 251129 g~1519.2124 518; compare 
Ro 816 Jas 217-26 Tit 116 a4-12 Eph 2! Jn 15%. 


544. Leading words and phrases.—The leading truths of this 
epistle are ‘God is light,’ 15; ‘He [God] is righteous,’ 2%; ‘God is 
love,’ 4°. 

Observe the emphatic repetition of the words and phrases ‘ truth,’ 
108 g4:21.27 319 55; ‘Jove,’ 215 gl 478161718; “light,” ‘in the light,” 157 
2"19; ‘being born of God,’ 1%° 47 5418 ; “we know,’ ‘ye know,’ about 
twenty times; ‘to keep His commandments,’ 2“ 3” 5%; ‘my children’ 
(rexvia), 21-12-28 37-18 44 5°; ‘little children’ (ma:dia), 21°18; ‘beloved,’ 27 
(R.V.) 32:24 447-11; ‘I write’ or ‘I wrote,’ 2!%.!5, &, 

Among expressions which occur only in this epistle note ‘ propitia- 
tion’ (iAagpés), 2? 4! ; ‘anointing,’ ‘unction,’ in a purely spiritual 
sense, 2°°27; ‘antichrist,’ 212 4°, also in the second epistle verse 7, 
in the sense of one who claims to be Christ, or one opposed to Him, 
and such are all who deny that Jesus is Messiah (or Christ), or that the 
Messiah has come in the flesh. The same person or power is elsewhere 
referred to, 2 Th 2!" 1 Tim 4! 2 Pet 2. Whether a lawless but 
impersonal power, a spirit opposed to Christianity, or some great 
power for evil yet to be manifested and gathered about a central 
personal agency is meant, cannot be determined. 

Worthy of note as indications of identity in authorship are certain 
favourite words of the writer occurring in the Gospel, and reappear- 
ing in the epistle, e.g. ‘light’ and ‘darkness,’ ‘life’ and ‘death,’ 
‘love’ and ‘hate,’ ‘truth’ and ‘witness,’ ‘to have life’ or ‘eternal 
life,’ ‘ to overcome the world,’ &e. 

On the textual questions in 5 “, see Part I, § 63. 


Second Epistle of John 
Written probably at Ephesus towards the end of the 
Jirst century. 


545. Letter to a Christian Lady.—Of the thirteen 
verses of this epistle, eight are in substance found in the 


II JOHN 755 


former letter; and it is concluded from the similarity of 
style and subject that both were written about the same 
time, and in reference to the same topics. It is addressed 
to a Christian lady and her children for the purpose of 
encouraging them to continue in the truth, and to avoid 
giving any countenance to deceivers. 


Her name is supposed by Clement of Alexandria to have been Eclecta 
(€kAex7), a supposition that received the support of Grotius, Wetstein, 
Middleton, &c. Other expositors, Athanasius among those ofearlytimes, 
and S, Davidson, Alford, W. Alexander, and Dr. S. Cox of recent date, 
assert the rendering should be ‘to the elect Kyria’ (Kupia) ; but accord- 
ing to the A. V., confirmed hy the Revisers, neither word is a proper 
name, both are appellatives, and correctly translated ‘the elect lady’ ; 
Luther, Beza, and in more recent years Lardner, Farrar, and Plummer, 
accept this interpretation. The opinion that it is not to an individual 
but to a church, or the Church in general, that the letter is addressed, 
is likewise an old one, held by Jerome, and in modern times it has the 
support of Bishop Lightfoot, Huther, Ewald, Salmon, Marcus Dods, 
Adeney. The reasons assigned for this opinion are that it accords with 
John’s frequent use of symbolical or mystical expressions, and that the 
language of verses Io, 11, 13 is more applicable to a church than an 
individual, and especially because of the occurrence of a similar expres- 
sion in r Pet 5}5, a doubtful reference however, as the allusion cannot 
be definitely determined. As it admits of no doubt that the third 
epistle is addressed to an individual, there can be no necessity to 
regard this letter other than in its most simple and obvious sense, as 
addressed to a Christian mother, probably a widow, for no mention is 
made of her husband, and dwelling most likely at Ephesus. 

‘The elder,’ literally ‘the presbyter’ (6 mpecBUrepos), the name 
assumed by the author of this and the succeeding epistle, is the same 
title as that by which Peter designates himself, 1 Pet 5}, and may 
have been used in either an official, or in its primary, simple sense of 
one advanced in years. The view that there was another ‘John the 
presbyter,’ the author of these epistles, rests on a passage written by 
Papias, preserved by Eusebius (Zccles. Hist. iii. ch. 39), but there are 
strong reasons for believing that the presbyter John of Papias is the 
same as John the Apostle. 


546. Its main topics and language.—An epistle so 
addressed shows with what vigilant affection the ministers 
of the gospel ought to cherish the piety of those whom they 

303 


756 THE EPISTLES 


bave gained, and it shows no less the importance in the 
sight of God of the station of a Christian mother, and 


the earnestness with which she should interest herself in — 


the religious welfare of her children. 

Of the resemblance which this epistle bears to the first 
as evidence that the Apostle John was the writer, Bleek 
observes: ‘Both epistles (the second and the third) present 
such an affinity with First John, in ideas, exposition, and 
language, both generally and in particulars, as to lead us to 
attribute them to the same writer; for this affinity cannot 
be explained as an imitation. The little that is peculiar to 
these epistles as distinct from the first epistle and the 
Gospel, is not of a character to warrant the supposition that 
they have come from a different hand, and is far out- 
weighed by the points of resemblance.’ 

Special words.—In this short epistle of only thirteen verses, the 
word ‘love’ occurs four times, and ‘truth’ five times. The word 
‘commandment’ is also repeated four times, and ‘ walking’ thrice. 


These are all words of frequent occurrence in the other Johannean 
writings. 


Third Epistle of John 


Written probably at Ephesus about the close of the 
Sirst century. 


547. To whom addressed.—That the Gaius or Caius, to 
whom this epistle is addressed, was the person mentioned 
in Ro 16” and 1 Cor 11, though not certain, is highly 
probable ; as he appears to have been an eminent Christian, 
particularly distinguished for his hospitality to Christian 
evangelists or missionaries. The Apostle expresses his 
affectionate joy at this and other evidences of his piety; 
cautions him against one Diotrephes, noted for his ambition 
and turbulence ; and recommends Demetrius to his friend- 
ship ; deferring other matters to a personal interview. 


———- 


a 


III JOHN 757 


This epistle is of special interest from the insight it affords us of 
the Christian churches in the closing years of the first century. ‘It 
helps us,’ observes Prof. S. D. F. Salmond, ‘ to see what these churches 


- were, not as we idealize them, but in their actual everyday condition, 


with their excellences and defects, their noble and ignoble figures, 
their meek and their ambitious members, the errors into which they 
might be betrayed ; their varied, mixed, and stirring life. It shows 
us something, too, of their independence, of the kind of ministry that 
was in exercise among them, and their relation to it, of their order 
also and administration.’ 


Comparing these two epistles with that to Philemon, it is 
evident that the Apostles wrote as Apostles even in their 
private letters, and that, whatever the theme of their com- 
munications, they imparted to each a savour of Christ. 


548. Characteristic words.—Short as this epistle is, it is not lack- 
ing in some of the characteristic words and expressions found in the 
Gospel and other writings of John, e. g. ‘in truth,’ verses 1, 3; ‘to be 
of God,’ ‘to see God,’ verse 11 ; ‘to bear witness,’ verses5, 12. Words 
peculiar to it are ‘to welcome’ (imoAapuBavew), verse 8; ‘love to have 
the pre-eminence’ (¢Aompwrevew), verse 9; ‘to prate against’ 
(pAvapeiv), verse Io. 





CHAPTER XXI 


THE REVELATION OF JOHN 


Patmos, A.D. 68-70 or A.D. 95-96. 


549. Place and date of writing.—This book is styled 
the Apocalypse or Revelation (i.e. the revealing or unveiling 
of that which has been hidden), as consisting of matters 
revealed to John by our Lord Jesus Christ. This took place 
when he was on Patmos, a small rocky island in the Agean 
Sea. It is impossible to determine definitely whether 
John’s banishment to this island was in the reign of 
Domitian or Nero. The generally accepted opinion, resting 
on the ancient and explicit testimony of Irenzeus (A.D. 170), 
that John saw the vision ‘towards the end of the reign of 
Domitian,’ quoted by Eusebius, and repeated by Victorinus, 
Bishop of Pettau, towards the close of the third century, 
who wrote the earliest commentary extant on the Apocalypse, 
does not agree with the tradition preserved by Tertullian 
(A.D. 220), Jerome (A.D. 378), and others, that the banish- 
ment was in the reign of Nero. 


A strong argument for the Neronic date is the difference in language 
hetween the Revelation and the Gospel of John, a difference so great 
that it can be satisfactorily accounted for only by the Gospel having 
been a later work by many years. The language of the Revelation is 
admittedly rugged: Greek and Hebrew constructions are strangely 
intermingled. In literary form it is very unlike the smooth Greek of 
the Gospel and epistles written by the Galilean fisherman Apostle after 
living twenty-five or more years in Ephesus amid the influences of 
Greek culture and civilization. The contents of the Revelation, in 
many of the symbolical expressions and allusions, are such as agree 


DATE OF THE APOCALYPSE 759 


with the scenes of horror enacted at Jerusalem at the time of the great 
Jewish revolt, and with those of the persecutions under that monster 
of cruelty, Nero. The references to Jerusalem and the Temple in 
ch. rr seem clearly to imply their existence at the time the book was 
written. The prominence given to the expectation of Christ’s speedy 
second coming also points to an early date. With various shades of 
modification, the evidence that the Revelation was written before the 
destruction of Jerusalem has satisfied such writers as Wetstein, 
Neander, Stier, Auberlen, Ewald, Bleek, S. Davidson, Diisterdieck, 
Stuart, F. D. Maurice, Plumptre, Lightfoot, Westcott, Farrar, and 
Salmon. 

On the other hand, in addition to the traditionary belief, there are 
internal indications ofa later than the Neronic date. The ecclesiastical 
organization of the churches addressed in the opening chapters shows 
that they had been founded a considerable time; their state of spiritual 
declension, as compared with the warm commendation bestowed by 
Paul in his Epistle ‘to the Ephesians,’ .p. 62, the use of the expression 
‘the Lord’s Day,’ instead of the earlier and current phrase ‘the first day 
of the week,’ also that of ‘the synagogue of Satan’ and the indications 
of a more widely-spread persecution than that of the time of Nero, 
point to the time assigned by Irenzus, somewhere about a.pD. 95-96. 
Such is the opinion of Lardner, Tomline, Burton, Woodhouse, Elliott, 
Ebrard, Hofmann, Hengstenberg, Wordsworth, Alford, Lee, Ramsay, 
and Milligan. 

The contradictory evidence as to date is explained in some degree 
by the hypothesis that this, presumably the earliest of the writings 
of John, received subsequent additions and interpolations. As 
Prof. Harnack ‘suggests, what was written under Galba, a.p. 68, 
‘afterwards underwent revision under Vespasian about 75-79, and 
perhaps in Domitian’s reign of terror about 95-96.’ It is a supposition 
that abates, while not entirely removing, the difficulties connected 
with the testimony of Irenzus, and the difference in language in the 
Book of Revelation and the Gospel of John. Another hypothesis, as 
old as the time of Eusebius, that the Revelation should be ascribed to 
the ‘ Presbyter John,’ a contemporary of the Apostle at Ephesus, is now 
generally regarded as untenable. The theory of Vischer, a pupil of 
Harnack, that the book was of Jewish origin, written in Hebrew 
before the destruction of Jerusalem, and subsequently interpolated 
from a Christian point of view, need only be mentioned. It is well 
stated and closely examined by W. H. Simcox (Cambridge Greek Testament, 
Exeursus ITI). 


550. Character of the Book.—This book greatly re- 
sembles those of Ezekiel and of Daniel, and belongs to the 


760 THE REVELATION OF JOHN 


class of literature known as ‘ Apocalyptic.’ The Apocalypses 
which began with Daniel and appeared under the titles of 
great names like Enoch, Moses, Ezra—titles merely, and not 
meant to indicate authorship—were always intended to 
encourage and stimulate the people in times of national 
distress by the assurance of a glorious future in the triumph 
of Israel’s long-wished-for Deliverer. Traces of this litera- 
ture, as we have seen, are found in the Epistles. As there 
had been Jewish Apocalyptic writings, so there were 
Christian writings of the same general character, conveying 
Divine assurances of overthrow of the forces of evil, and 
the consummation of all things at the second coming of 
Christ. Of these the noblest example is this Apocalypse 
of John in its grandeur, described by Milton as ‘the 
majestic image of a high and stately tragedy, shutting up 
and intermingling her solemn scenes and acts with a sevyen- 
fold chorus of hallelujahs and harping symphonies.’ 
The outline of the book is as follows :— 


551. Contents.— The Revelation, or Apocalypse, con- 
sists of two principal divisions. 

Part 1 (1-3) relates to ‘the things which are’; comprising 
a preparatory vision exhibiting the Divine perfections and _ 
the human sympathy of the Redeemer, and the addresses 
or epistles to the ‘angels,’ personifications of the spirit or 
‘genius’ of each of the Seven Churches*; each of which 
consists of three parts: (1) The Introduction, referring in 
each case to some of the attributes of Him Who addresses 
the Church, taken from the preceding vision, in which 
a progressive order is observable, and an appropriateness 
to the general tenor of the epistle which follows; (2) A 


* So Lightfoot, Philippians, pp. 197-8, &c. The personification is in 
the style of the book—the ‘angel of the waters.’ Others, as Bunsen, 
Godet, Trench, Schaff, Wordsworth, &c., held that the bishops of the 
churches are intended by the designation. 


VISIONS OF THE APOCALYPSE 761 


description of the characteristics of the Church, with suitable 
encouragement, admonition, or reproof; and (3) Promises of 
reward to those who overcome, which are addressed to all 
the churches. 

The remainder of the book (4-22) is occupied with the 
prophecy of ‘the things which shall be hereafter.’ It 
consists of a series of visions, showing forth, by means of 
symbolical imagery and figurative language, the conflicts 
and sufferings of the people of God, and His judgements 
upon their enemies; and concluding with representations 
of the downfall of the mystic Babylon, type of antagonism 
to the truth, and the triumph of the New Jerusalem, the 
Church perfected. 


An introductory vision represents the Divine glory (4), the sealed 
scroll, and the Lamb, who alone is worthy to open it (5). This is 
followed by the opening of the first six seals (6). The sealing of 
the 144,000 of the tribes of Israel; the appearance and worship of the 
innumerable multitude from all nations; and the opening of 
the seventh seal (7 8'). The vision of an angel offering incense at 
the altar ; followed by the sounding of the first six trumpets (87-* 9). 
The vision of a mighty angel, with a little scroll open in his hand ; 
which, after the seven thunders, and the angel’s proclamation, John 
is directed to take and eat (10). The measuring of the temple and 
altar ; the two witnesses ; their prophesying, death, resurrection, and 
-ascension ; the sounding of the seventh trumpet (11). The vision of 
the woman persecuted by the dragon ; the conflict between Michael 
and his angels, and the dragon and his angels; preservation of the 
woman in the wilderness (12). The beast rising up out of the sea, and 
the second beast coming up out of the earth (13). The vision of the 
Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Sion ; the proclamations of the three 
angels; the harvest, and the vintage (15). The pouring out of the 
seven vials of plagues (16). The angel’s description of the woman 
sitting upon the beast (17). Another angel’s proclamation of Baby- 
lon’s fall and destruction (18), followed by songs of praise and exulta- 
tion (18 19! "), ‘The Word of God’ attended by His faithful 
followers, by whom the beast and the false prophet, and the con- 
federate kings, are overthrown and destroyed (194), The binding 
of the dragon, and his imprisonment for a thousand years, during 
which the saints live and reign with Christ ; and at the end of which, 
Satan, being again loosed, gathers the nations once more to battle 


762 





against ‘the beloved city,’ when he and his rebellious hosts are finally 
overthrown and cast into the lake of fire (20'~). Visions of the last 
judgement, the new heaven and the new earth, and the heavenly 
Jerusalem (204-22") : followed by final addresses from the angel, from 
Christ, and from the Apostle, declaring the Divine origin, the abso- 
lute certainty, and the speedy accomplishment of these predictions 
(a2%-22), 

552. Sevenfold arrangement.—The whole may be 
briefly summed up thus. After the Prologue (17~*):— 

First, Seven epistles to the Seven Churches (1-3). 

Secondly, Seven seals (41-8'). 

Thirdly, Seven trumpets sounded (8°-11). - 

Fourthly, Seven Mystic Figures, (1) The Sun-clothed 
Woman, (2) The Red Dragon, (3) The Man-child, (4) The 
First Wild Beast, from the Sea, (5) The Second Wild Beast, 
from the Land, (6) The Lamb on Mount Sion, (7) The Son 
of Man on the Cloud. - 

Fifthly, Seven vials poured out (15, 16). 

Sizthly, The enemies of the Church overthrown (17-20). 

Seventhly, The Glories of the Holy City, the New 
Jerusalem (21-22°); Epilogue (22°~*1), 


553. Various Interpretations. — As no other portion 
of sacred Scripture is more difficult, so of none have the 
explanations been more various. The different theories 
may be arranged under four heads. 

1. Some consider the greater part of these prophecies to 
have had their fulfilment in the early ages of the Church. 

In this view Grotius, Hammond, Wetstein, Eichhorn, De 
Wette, Stuart, Hug, Ewald, Herder, Bleek, Liicke, Dister- 
dieck, S. Davidson, F. D. Maurice, and Farrar in a measure 
concur, and of course maintain the earlier date of the book. 
This is the Preterist interpretation. 

‘Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, 
and the things which shall be hereafter.’ These words Dean Farrar 


regards as the basis of the Preterist system of interpretation of the 
Revelation ; it describes ‘the contemporary state of things in the 


INTERPRETATION OF THE APOCALYPSE 763 


Church and the world, and the events which were to follow in imme: 
diate sequence.’ Those who take this view regard a large portion of 
the Revelation as referring to the Neronian persecution and the Jewish 
rebellion. ‘The ‘seven kings’ of 171° are identified with the emperors 
Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius (Caligula), Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho. 
What is said in 13* regarding the ‘number’ of the beast, 666, is found 
to correspond with the numerical value of the letters in the words 
Neron Casar in Hebrew characters (1D) jn32, 200 + 60 + 100 + 50 + 6 + 200 
+50 = 666); or reading Nrro for Nzeron, and thus deducting N = 50, 
we have 616, which corresponds with an alternative reading. That 


‘the writer set forth his great secret according to the numerical value 


of the Hebrew letters, while the book is written in Greek, may cer- 
tainly appear strange, until it is remembered that while with Jewish 
fellow Christians the secret would be safe, to treacherous Gentile 
informers the more difficult its discovery was made the better. 


2. A second class of expositors, comprising the greater 
number of Protestant writers, regard these prophecies as 
a delineation of the great features in the history of the 
world, or of the Church, from the apostolic age to the end 
of time. 

This system of interpretation, generally called the Historical, 
regards the narrative as a continuous history reaching on to 
the end of time, though some parts of the book are treated 
as synchronological. Its advocates are Mede (1627), whose 
conclusions were in a large measure approved by Sir Isaac 
Newton in his Prophecies of Holy Writ, Vitringa, Bishop 
Newton, Scott, Woodhouse, Bengel, Hengstenberg, Elliott, 
Keith, Birks, Bishop Wordsworth, Alford (in a modified 
form), and Grattan Guinness. 

While agreeing, however, in this general view, the historical inter- 
preters display the utmost diversity of opinion as to the application of 
the different symbols in numbers, animated forms, forces of nature, 
colours, &c.; some extending them more or less to the events of 
secular history, while others restrict them entirely to the affairs of the 
Chureh. It would be wrong to ridicule the mistakes and contradic- 
tions of interpreters whose solemn pursuit was that of truth, in their 
calculations of times and seasons and their interpretations of apoca- 


lyptic symbols; but in the fact that authorities of such reputation as 
Bengel, Wordsworth, Elliott, and others are at hopeless variance, this 


764 THE REVELATION OF JOHN 


system breaks down. Where one interpreter (Elliott) sees in the sixth 
seal a reference to Constantine, another (Faber) sees allusion to the 
first French Revolution; where one sees in the star fallen from 
heaven a good angel (Bengel), another (Elliott) discerns Mohammed : 
the scorpion locusts that have power for five months mean to Mede 
one hundred and fifty years of the dominion of the Saracens, but to 
Vitringa they mean Goths, and to Scherzer Jesuits. All this seems to 
be arbitrary and hazardous in the extreme. 


3. Another class of interpreters, taking an entirely dif- 
ferent view from any of those already mentioned, consider 
the greater part, if not the whole, of this series of prophecies, 
to belong, in its strictest and fullest sense, to the last days. 

This interpretation is the Futurist, and has been advocated 
by Maitland, Burgh, J. H. Todd, Isaac Williams, W. Kelly, 
and others. 


According to this system, the epistles to the Seven Churches cover 
and predict seven actual successive stages of church history. The 
visions beginning with the fourth chapter, and all the prophetical 
parts of the book, are to be viewed as a representation of events 
which are to take place shortly before the second advent of Christ, and 
the consummation of all things ; the Zsrael spoken of here being the 
literal Israel,—the ‘two witnesses’ being two individuals, probably 
Moses and Elijah ; the days in the chronological periods, literal days— 
and the antichrist or apocalyptic beast, under his last head, a personal 
infidel antichrist, who is to reign over the whole extent of the old 
Roman empire, and to persecute and triumph over the saints for just 
three years and a half, until Christ’s coming to destroy him. ‘It is 
clear that there can be no discussion as to the accuracy or inaccuracy 
of the results of this system of interpretation in any of its forms. The 
future defies criticism.’ Archdeacon Lee, in Speaker's Commentary. 


4. A fourth system of interpretation, known as the 
Spiritual or Ideal, is adopted by some of the modern Anglican 
interpreters, e. g. Bishop Boyd Carpenter in Ellicott’s Com- 
mentary, Archdeacon Lee in the Speaker's Commentary, 
Professor Milligan, and in part by Dean Farrar. This 
system regards the Revelation as the pictorial unfolding of 
great principles in constant conflict, though under various 
forms, and eclectic in its character. 





{ 


PROPHECIES IN THE APOCALYPSE 765 


‘The Preeterist,’ says Bishop Carpenter, ‘may be right in finding 
early fulfilments, and the Futurist in expecting undeveloped ones, and 
the Historical interpreter is unquestionably right in looking for them 
along the whole line of history ; for the words of God mean more than 
one man, or one school of thought, can compass....’ ‘The visions of the 
book do find counterparts in the occurrences of human history. They 
have had these, and they yet will have these fulfilments, and these 
fulfilments belong neither wholly to the past nor wholly to the future. 
The prophecies of God are written in a language which can be read by 
more than one generation.’ Such a view accords well with that of 

‘Bacon in his Advancement of Learning, that Divine prophecies ‘have 
springing and germinant accomplishment throughout many ages, 
though the height or fullness of them may refer to some one age’ 
(bk. ii. 3). 


554, Distinct and Certain Prophecies.— Whatever 
difference of opinion may exist among interpreters with 
respect to the precise times and countries, events, and 
persons, to which it is supposed these visions refer, they are 
mostly agreed both as to its general character and design, 
and as to the lessons to be deduced from it—lessons more or 
less appropriate to every age of the Church. Thus all have 
learned from these symbolical representations that Christ 
is exalted to the highest dignity in heaven, and exercises 
universal dominion on earth—that the state of the Church 
of Christ is for a long time to be one of trouble and conflict 
—that steadfastness and fidelity are our duty—that after the 
overthrow of its first adversaries the Jews, the great enemy 
would employ against it other agents—that worldly power 
and policy, the persecutor and the false prophet, would he 
allied in seeking to destroy or to corrupt it—that the marks 
of this unhallowed combination are pride, worldly pomp, 
a persecuting spirit, a careless and luxurious life—that 
while exposed to the assaults of these foes, it would ever 
be under Divine protection — that whatever was opposed 
to the kingdom of Christ would certainly be overthrown— 
that even now there is a constant and most intimate con- 
nexion between the visible and the invisible world, prayer 


Va 





766 THE REVELATION OF JOHN — 


and praise ascending continually to the throne of God, and 
messengers of wrath and mercy descending thence—that 
the providence and government of God comprehend all 
subjects and events, and render them subservient to the 
best ends—that the Church, after passing through a condi- 
tion of abasement, warfare, and tribulation, will be brought 
to a state of honour, peace, and felicity—that the Saviour 
Who redeemed His people by the sacrifice of Himself, ever 
regards them with infinite tenderness and benignity, aids 
and defends them by His almighty power, and will receive 
them at last to His heavenly kingdom—and finally that, 
the unholy being excluded, all the followers of Christ, of 
every age and country, will be united in one glorious society, 
exhibiting perfect holiness, and enjoying everlasting happi- 
ness, in the presence of their God and Saviour. These are 
some of the most important truths contained in this book; 
they are presented with peculiar vividness and power; and 
they have contributed much to the faith and love, the 
fortitude and patience, the hope and joy, of all the followers 
of the Lord. 

The ‘ Millennium,’ depicted in the later part of the book, 
is a period in which the martyred saints shall reign with 
Christ, 20. Some interpreters take the ‘thousand years’ 
literally: in accordance, however, with the style of Seuipture, 
it more probably signifies a prolonged though finite dura- 
tion ; and the symbolism seems to denote a period during 
which the moral and spiritual influence of those who have 
bravely witnessed for the truth (‘the souls of those that 
were beheaded,’ &c.) shall ‘ reign’ or preyail among men *, 


* Thus George Eliot speaks of 
; ‘those immortal dead who live again 
In minds made better by their presence; live 
In pulses stirred to generosity 
In deeds of daring rectitude; in scorn 
Of miserable aims that end in self,’ 


THE GREAT APOSTATE POWER 767 


This may date from the time when idolatry in the Roman 
Empire received its final blow ; or it may be entirely future, 
On this point opinions greatly differ. See F. D. Maurice, 
On the Apocalypse, sect. xx. 

It should be noted that after the great prophecy of 21178 
there is a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem (in contrast with 
that of Babylon, ch. 17), which from many of its features 
must refer to the Church—the ideal Church—on earth. See 

especially 2174 ‘and the nations shall walk amidst the light 
thereof,’ R. V., the whole world illuminated and blessed by ~ 
the Church. 

Among the prophetic visions of the Apocalypse, there 
is one peculiarly prominent (17'>), which strikingly har- 
monizes with other prophetic intimations evidently refer- 
ring to the same subject, 2 Th 2°-* 1 Tim 4)-°. 
There is unusual agreement among the greater number of 
the best expositors in explaining these combined prophecies ; 

- although some consider them to refer to events still future. 
They are regarded as predicting the rise and temporary 
ascendency of a great apostate power in the midst of the 
Christian Church, which should be distinguished by the 
following characteristics :— 

(z) Deep-seated corruption of religion, which corruption, by 
fraud as well as force, it spreads and maintains throughout 
the world, 2 Th 2°-8-19 Tim 41-2 Rev 17?7® 183-5 197. (2) 
Gross immorality and licentiousness, combined with hypo- 
critical and self-righteous asceticism, 1 Tim 473. (3) Arrogant 
and blasphemous pretensions, usurpation of Divine preroga- 
tives, opposition against God, and persecution of His people, 
2h 2* Rev 17°14 185-79 19%, (4) Great wealth, magni- 
ficence, and luxury, Rev 17! 18’°-4~1%, (5) Reliance upon 
the support and aid of worldly powers, whose tyranny it 
sanctions and upholds, Rev 17}-7-45-17 183.9, 

Such is the picture drawn by the hand of prophecy, of 
this rival and enemy of God, seated in His temple ; and its 


768 THE REVELATION OF JOHN 


counterpart is but too clearly seen in the history of a great 
portion of Christendom. Out of the abundant proofs 
furnished by the records of the Church during the long, dark 
night through which she has passed, and even by the 
present state of the world, it is sufficient to mention a few 
leading traits of character which mark that system of 
iniquity in which the fulfilment of these predictions is 
pre-eminently seen. Gross corruptions of Christian doctrine 
and worship ;—compulsory celibacy and uncommanded 
austerities, combined with meretricious splendour and a 
counterfeit Jewish ritual ;—blasphemous assumptions of 
Divine titles and honours, claims of infallibility and supreme 
authority over the conscience—dispensations and absolution 
of sins, pretended prophecies and miracles—oppression and 
persecution of the people of God, carried on with the 
concurrence and aid of earthly rulers ;—all these have been 
found more or less developed in those antichristian systems 
which have so greatly prevailed both in Eastern and 
Western Europe, to the hindrance of the spread of Divine 
truth, and the ruinous delusion of myriads, who, being 
blinded by error, perish in their sin. 

The fearful errors of this apostasy are not, however, the 
closing scenes of this book. The ‘wicked’ or ‘lawless one’ 
‘the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth,’ 
2 Th 2’. She that did corrupt the earth shall be judged, 
Rev 19%. And this great event, which will cause mourning 
to some on earth, will occasion great joy and thanksgiving 
in heaven, Rev 18°? rg!~®, Again, and again, and again, 
the ery is heard there, ‘ Hallelujah’; and the servants of God 
on earth are summoned to join in the song. 


555. Peculiarities in words and phrases.—Of words and phrases 
peculiar to this book note as characteristic ‘the Lord's Day ’ (4 «upiax? 
Huépa), 11°; ‘the second death,’ 2! 20%!4 218; ‘dragon’ thirteen times in 
reference to the devil; ‘accuser,’ 12’; ‘brimstone,’ 9'7; the use of 
the Hebrew words ‘ Abaddon,’ 9!; ‘hallelujah,’ 19'3*®, 


" 


; 


PECULIARITIES OF THE APOCALYPSE 769 


No book in the Bible has such numerous references to angels, upwards 
of seventy occurring; noteworthy also is the symbolic use of the 
number seven, in upwards of thirty instances. 

It is important to observe certain characteristic peculiarities which 
betoken an identity of authorship in the Gospel and epistles of John 
and the Revelation. The following will illustrate :— 

t. The application of the title The Word of God given to our Lord, 19}. 
This name ‘the Word’ is found in the New Testament only in John’s 
writings; cf. Jn 21 Jn 1), 

2. The idea of the Lord Jesus Christ as a Lamb occurs in the Revela- 
tion twenty-five times, and only elsewhere in Jn 17°-5, 

3. The use of the term fo conquer (vixav), in the sense of overcoming 
the evil of the world, occurs repeatedly in the letters to the Seven 
Churches, 2, 3, also in 124 15? 174217. Cf. x Jn al314 44 54-5, 

4. The word ‘true’ (dAn@vds), in the sense of real, genuine, con- 
trasted with fictitious, pretended, is found thirteen times in the Gospel 
and Epistles, and ten times in the Revelation ; as 37 19%. Cf. Jn 11* 
15! 1 Jn 5”. 

5. The unusual plural aiyata (‘bloods’) in Rev 18% (R. V.) is found 
elsewhere only in Jn 1°°. 

6. The statement in Rey 17, ‘and they which pierced Him,’ is found 
only in Jn 19%”, and is there also connected with the same translation 
of Zee 12, which differs in rendering from that of the Septuagint. 

q- A prominent idea of John in the Gospel, expressed by the noun 
paprupia, variously rendered witness, testimony, record, and the verb 
paptupéw, witness, bear witness, testify, bear record, in the sense of 
declaration respecting Jesus Christ, of public profession of belief, is 
prominent also in Revelation. See 17° 6° 121117 1910 20% 221%.20, 

8. Other points of resemblance between this book and the Gospel 
will be found in Dr. S. Davidson’s Introduction to the New Testament, 
yol. ii, and in Dr. H. R. Reynolds’s Introduction and Exposition of the 
Gospel of St. John in the ‘ Pulpit Commentary.’ 

Among many works which might be referred to on the Epistles to 
the Seven Churches are those of Archbishop Trench, Canon Tristram, 
Dean Plumptre, Dr. Reynolds (The Expositor, series i, vols. ii and iii), Prof. 
Marcus Dods, and Dr. Culross (Thy First Love, Christ’s Message to Ephesus) : 
also (since this note was written) Prof. W. M. Ramsay’s important 
treatise on The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia and their place in the plan 
of the Apocalypse. 


Our work is done. The first chapters of Matthew show 
us Christ in His weakness; of royal descent indeed, and 
receiving the profoundest homage, yet poor and persecuted ; 


3D 


770 THE REVELATION OF JOHN 


the last of Revelation show Him with memorials of His 
suffering—for He is a Lamb still—but triumphant, ‘reigning 
for ever and ever.’ In Genesis we see Paradise lost, and 
man driven forth from the presence of God; in Revelation 
more than Paradise is regained, men are once more in 
fellowship with God (22°**), a fellowship that shall know 
noend. Malachi had ended with ‘a curse,’ the last words 
of John are of blessing (22*!). So characteristic are the 
various portions of the Inspired Volume throughout: so 
complete the whole. 


APPENDICES 


—_+4+—— 


I. SCRIPTURE CHRONOLOGY 
with that of Contemporary Nations 


Il, SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY 


- Fauna, Flora and Minerals 





APPENDIX TI 


Tue Oxtp Testament History 


Tne bases of Scripture Chronology, as reckoned from the era of 
Creation, have been discussed in §§ 195-197. The earliest point 
of recorded contact between the Chosen People and the heathen 
world is noted § 178. This was before B. c. 2000 (Abraham in Palestine, 
and Khammurabi in Babylonia). But it is not possible to arrive, with 
our present means of information, at more than an approximate 
statement of the several’ dates. The following may be accepted 
(Principal Owen C. Whitehouse) as probable, in regard to the 
patriarchal history and the abode of Israel in Egypt. 


B.C. 
2040 Brrrn or ABRAHAM. 
1940 Brera or Isaac (Gen 215), 
1880 Brrrn or Jacorz (Gen 257°), 
1750 Mieration or Jacor (Israel) to Eeypr (Gen 46°). 
1320 Tur Exopus (after 430 years) : see p. 324. 


IsRAEL 


1320 THE Exopus*, 

1280 Entrance into Canaan ; and wars ; division of the land. 

1255 Death of Joshua (twenty-five years after entering Canaan, 
Josephus, Ant. v. i. § 29). For the period of the Judges, see 
§ 198, p. 325, ar § 268, p. 443; Ornntet to SamveEt, about 
200 years. 


1040 Beginning of the Regal Period. Accession of Saut. 
{According to J osephus, Saul reigned twenty years ; in Ac 137 
the time assigned is ‘forty years’—probably a transcriber's 
error, as it would follow that David, the friend of Jonathan, 
was born in the tenth year of Saul’s reign, 2 Sa 5%.) Wars 
with neighbouring tribes. Saul and Jonathan fall in conflict 
with the Philistines. 


® Various dates assigned to the Exodus by chronologers: Rabbins 
1314, Eusebius 1512, Bede 1499, Ussher 1491, Hales 1648, Bengel 1497. 





CHRONOLOGY 


ConTEemporARY ANNALS: Eaypr anpD BABYLONIA 


Egypt, reckoned by dynasties, successive or in some instances con- 
current in different parts. 

B.C. 4400 (Brugsch) or 3892 (Lepsius). Mens, the founder of the 
First dynasty (Memphis). 

Pyramids built in the Sixth dynasty (3300-3066 Brugsch). Fall of 
the Memphite dominion, Revival of the Empire under the Theban 
dynasties from about 2500. 

Invasion of the Hyxsos or Shepherd-Kings (Fifteenth to Highteenth 
dynasties) ; about 2098-1587. Israel in Egypt in the latter part of 
this time: see § 179. 

The Theban dynasty restored: Nineteenth dynasty. Ramses I 
¢. 1400, Ramses II, the Pharaoh of the Oppression (Sesostris of the 
Greeks), c. 1350, Mrnepran II, the Pharaoh of the Exodus: see 
§§ 180, 181. 


Babylonia, Kuammurasi, founder of the First Empire (including 
Akkad to the North, and Sumer (Shinar) to the South), before 
B.C. 2000. 

For the Hittite Empire see § 186. 


Assyria. TIGLATH-PILESER I, c. 1100, renowned asa hunter. Conflicts 
with the Hittites (IT. G. Pinches, 0. 7. Assyria and Babylonia). 


Greece and Asia Minor. Fall of Troy, 1184 (date generally assigned). 
Coprus, King of Athens, c. 1068. 


Egypt. c, 1200-966. The Twentieth and Twenty-first dynasties ; 
one of the kings of latter dynasty (prob. PasescHanen II) was father- 
in-law to Solomon. 


Philistia. A warlike tribe of ‘strangers’ or ‘immigrants’ (non- 
Semitic, ‘uncircumcised ’) had at an earlier period established them- 
selves in the south-western corner of Canaan, and eventually gave 
their name to the whole land ‘ Palestine.’ They were in possession 
at the time of the Exodus, and were judged too formidable for the 
Israelites to encounter, Ex 137 (see p. 280). Their five cities or 
strongholds were Gaza, Ashdod, Askelon, Ekron and Gath. They 
were long the most unquiet and formidable neighbours of the Israelites, 
in Solomon’s reign they were subject to him, 1 Ki 4?!~*4, 


a 


? 
774 THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY 


B.C. 
1020 Davin, king in Hebron: contests for the kingdom with Esh- 
baal (Ish-bosheth), son of Saul. 


1018 Davm, king in Jerusalem: Nathan and Gad prophets. The 
ark brought to the Tabernacle on Mount Zion. 


c. 990 Rebellion of Absalom. 
980 Accession of Sonomon. 


977 Building of the Temple begun. 
969 Dedication of the Temple. 
Alliances with other nations; extension of commerce. In- 
ternal troubles; Jeroboam’s flight to Shishak : Prophet Abijah. 
938 Death of Solomon, and Division of the Kingdom. 


Tue Drviwep Kinepom 
Dates mostly as in Kamphausen’s ‘ Chronologie,’ 1883 


JUDAH B.C. IsRAEL 
Renosoan, 1 Ki 14212 Ch ra¥’. | 937 JeropoaM I (Shechem), x Ki 
Shemaiah forbids attack on 12°, Calf-worship at Dan 
Israel, 1 Ki 12%!-* 9 Ch 111-4, and Bethel, 1272, A non- 
Relapse of the people into Levitical priesthood, 13554, 
idolatry, 1 Ki 142?-*4, Prophets: a Man of God out 
Shishak (Shashanqg) plun- of Judah, 134. Ahijah 147. 
ders Jerusalem, 1 Ki 14%5—*8 Death of the young prince 
2 Ch 12272, Abijah, 1478, Constant war 


Axisau, or Abijam; defeats | 920 | with Judah, 145° 
Jeroboam, 2 Ch 135771, 

Asa, 1 Ki 155" 2 Ch 1377; | 917 
puts away idolatry and 


strengthens the kingdom, | 915 NapaB, 1 Ki 142% 7525-29, 
r Ki 15"-5 2 Ch 142-8 15-38, slain by Baasha., Jeroboam’s 
Victory over Zerah ‘the Ethio- family extinct. 
pian,’ 2 Ch 14°15, Subsidizes | 914 BaasHa, 1 Ki 157%, de- 
Ben-hadad I against Baasha, feated by Ben-hadad I, 2 Ch 
r Ki r5!¢2. Hanani, pro- 161-6. Denounced by Jehu, 
testing, is imprisoned, 2 Ch 1 Kix6S3 
167, Other prophets, Azariah 
and Oded. 

891 ExLan, murdered by Zimri, 

x Ki 16°-®, 





890 Zimzi, reigned only for a 
week : committed suicide on 
the election of Omri, 1 Ki 
16920, 

Omni, long civil war with 
Tibni. Samaria built, 1 Ki 
163-38, 

878 Auas . son of Omri, married 
Jezebel a Sidonian princess, 


896 


CONTEMTORARY ANNALS 775 


Ammon, a Semitic people, idolaters; occupying territory on the east 
of Jordan (see p. 291) ; hostile to Israel, especially in the days of Saul 
and David, to whom two of their kings, Nahash and Hanun, suc- 
cessively offered defiance. David crushed their power, and they 
continued in abject servitude until the days of Jehoshaphat. 


Phenicia. For the relations of Phoenicia with Israel during the 
early days of the kingdom, see § 184. Hzram of Tyre was among the 
closest of allies with David and Solomon, and by wise and skilful 
commerce secured great prosperity. 


Syria. Zobah, in the north-east (‘Aram beyond the River’), was 
governed in David’s time by the warlike King Hadadezer (or Hadarezer), 
who was decisively defeated by Joab, 2 Sa 8° 10119, Rezon of Zobah 
made himself master of Damascus and greatly harassed Israel in the 
days of David and Solomon, t Ki 117°. 


Egypt. SHasHang I, 966-935, founder of the 22nd or ‘ Bubastite’ 
dynasty. On the south wall of the temple of Ammon at Karnak is 
a long list of conquered cities and districts : among them one that was 
formerly read Judah-melek, ‘King of Judah’; now, however, supposed 
to be Yehud-hammelik, probably denoting a town in Dan, Jos 19%. 
Many of the other names are those of Jewish towns. 

ZeRAu (Usarkon I), c. 920, was a later king of the same dynasty. 


Syria. Brn-Hapap I, son or grandson of Rezon of Damascus, who 
had been an ‘adversary’ to Israel in the days of Solomon, 1 Ki 1175-°. 
Hadad was a name of the chief Syrian deity, probably the Sun. Two 
other kings named Ben-hadad are mentioned in Scripture (see below). 


Phenicia. Eqvupaat (Ithobalus), King of Sidon and priest of Astarte, 
940-908, father of Jezebel, 1 Ki 16°), gained the throne also of Tyre 
by assassination. 


Greece. Homer, jl. c. 950. Hesiod, c. 860. 


776 


JupaH 


JEHOSHAPHAT : his piety and 
prosperity, 1 Ki 15% 2a‘! 
3 Ch 17'* 207-3, His son 
Jehoram married Ahab’s 
daughter Athaliah. The two 
kings join in the expedition 
againstSyria at Ramoth-gilead ; 
Jehoshaphat reproved by Jehu, 
‘2 Ch 19'-*. Organizes asystem 
of jurisprudence, 194. De- 
feats a great confederacy (Moab, 
Ammon, Edom, &c.) in the 
Valley of Blessing, 2 Ch 20 
(see Ps 82, 115). 

Jahaziel and Eliezer, pro- 
phets. Abandons naval alliance 
with Ahaziah, 1 Ki 224%. 


Alliance with Joram against 
Moab, 2 Ki 35-?7, gt 


JeHoRAM. Revolt of Edom, 
2 Ki 8°°-212 Ch 218°; Jehoram 
falls into idolatry : attacked by 
Philistines and Arabians, 2 Ch 
2117; unhonoured in his 
death, 217°, 

AunaziaH : his fatal alliance 
with Joram againstthe Syrians: 
both kings slain at Jezreel, 
2 Ki o'®38. 

ATHALIAH, mother of Ahaziah, 
usurps the throne for six years. 
Slain by Jehoiada, 2 Ki rr. 

JEHOASH or Joash placed on 
the throne by Jehoiada at the 


age of seven, 2 Ki 11 2 Ch 23. | 


Restores the Temple but for- 
sakes Jehovah. Zechariah, 
son of Jehoiada, protests, and 
is slain in the court of the 
Temple, 2Ch24*°-**. Incursion 
of the Syrians, 2 Ki 12!7-18§ 2Ch 
245-24; Joash slain by his ser- 
vants. 

AmazraH: hires Israelite 
troops to assist him against 
Edom, but at a prophet’s com- 
mand sends them back, 2 Ch 
25°-1°, Conquers the Edomites, 


THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY 


B.C. 
876 


856 


854 


851 


843 


842 


836 


814 | 





and introduced Baal-worship 
into Israel: withstood by 
Elijah. Ben-hadad II 
Samaria, but is twice defeated 
and forms an alliance with 
Ahab ; denounced by aprophet, 
1 Ki 208, Naboth’s vineyard: 
prophecy of Micaiah. Ahab 
falls in the attempt to win 
Ramoth-gilead from the Sy- 


rians, 1679-224, 


~ 


AnaztAH: son of Ahab. Re- 
volt of Moab, 1 Ki 225!-$ 2 Ki 
1. Dies from the effects of a 
fall. Elijah translated, 2 Ki 2. 


JEHORAM (or Joram), brother 
of Ahaziah. War with Moab 
continued, 2 Ki 3 of 
Mesha). Prophecies and mir- 
acles of Elisha. Siege of Sama- 
ria by Ben-hadad and sudden 
deliverance, 2 Ki 67%, After- 
wards wounded in battle with 
Syrians, retreats to Jezreel, and 
is slain by Jehu. 


Jenu, general in Joram'’s 
army, anointed king, 2 Kig'“*. 
| Slays Jezebel, Ahab’s sons and 
| Baal’s worshippers, 1o. Tri- 
| butary to Shalmaneser. 


JeHoaHaz. Disastrous wars 
with Hazael and Ben-hadad, 
2 Ki 10% 731-2, 


JeHOoASH, orJoash. Death of 
Elisha. Ben-hadad III defeated 
three times. Victories over 
Amaziah of Judah, 2 Ch 25"7—*4, 


JeropoaM IL: an irreligious 


man, but a prosperous king ; 
reclaims the territory con- 





CONTEMPORARY ANNALS 777 


Syria. Bern-Hapap II, son of Ben-hadad I, called Hadadezer on the 
Assyrian monuments ; defeated by Shalmaneser IT. 


Assyria. SHatmaneser II, 858-823. In the sixth year of his reign, 
as appears from the monuments, he defeated, at Qarqar in northern 
Syria, an alliance of twelve kings, among whom appear the names of 
Ben-hadad of Syria and ‘ Ahab of Israel.’ This, it has been said, ‘is 
the first date in the history of Israel that can be definitely fixed’ 
(Bc. 854). The alliance of Ahab with Syria must have been im- 
mediately broken, and followed by the catastrophe at Ramoth-gilead. 

Moab. Musua, ‘sheep-master,’ king, c. 854. On the ‘ Moabite stone’ 
see § 183. 


Greece. Legislation of Lycurncus in Sparta, ¢. 850. 


Syria. Brn-Hapap II murdered by Hazart, who usurps the throne 
c. 850, and reigns for forty-six years. He warred against Israel and 
Judah with great ferocity, took Gath, and was prevented from entering 
Jerusalem by a large bribe from Joash, 2 Ki 12'8, 


Assyria. Tribute of ‘Jehu son of Omri’ (monument), ¢. 842. See 
§ 187, p. 308. SHatmaAneEseER III, 781. 


Egypt. Close of the Twenty-second dynasty (SuHasHang IIT), c. 811. 


Syria. Brn-wapap III, son of Hazael, lost his father’s conquests. 
Damascus captured by the Assyrian Rimmon-unirari, 803. See § 187, 
p- 308. 


778 


JupAaH 


but falls into their idolatry, 
2 Ki 14 2Ch25!!—*, Challenges 
Joash to battle, but is defeated 
and afterwards murdered, 2 Ki 
14)° 2 Ch 2577, 

Uzzrau (Azariah), under the 
influence of the prophet Zecha- 
riah, begins his reign well; 
develops the resources of the 
country; fortifies Jerusalem 
and the outposts of the Judean 
territory ; secures a fortified 
post of vantage at Elath; near 
the end of his reign, invading 
the priests’ office he is stricken 
with leprosy, Jotham becoming 
regent, 2 Ki 15!-5 2 Ch 26, 


Jotham as regent, 


Isaiah, Micah, 


JorHam, sole king: both as 
associated with his father and 
alone he reigned well and 
prosperously, 2 Ki 158?-°° 2 Ch 
27'-*, but towards the close of 
his reign the kingdom was 
much troubled by the alliance 
between Israel and Syria, 2 Ki 
1577, 

Awaz, an impious and reck- 
less king prone to idolatry, 
harassed by the confederate 
forces of Syria and Israel ; seeks 
the aid of Assyria, but is in- 
duced to desist by the strong 
protest of Isaiah. Jewish 
prisoners of war returned by 
Pekah at the instance of Oded, 
2 Ch 285-15, 


Hezex1an, a deeply religious 
and generally prosperous king, 
a Ki 1878; in the fourteenth 


THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY 


B.C. 


750 
741 


740 
737 
736 
735 


734 


730 





IsRAEL 
quered by Syria, acco 


ing to 
the word of Jonah, 2 Ki 1475-*7, 
extended the kingdom in many 
directions including Damascus 


and Hamath, 14%. Ministry 
of Joel(?), Hosea, Amos. 


ZacHaRiaH, last of Jehu's 
line : assassinated by Shallum, 
2 Ki 158-11, 

SHALLUM, reigns but one 
month, slain by Menahem. 

MenaueEmM, tributary to As- 
syria, 

PexkaHIAH, slain by Pekah, 

Pexau, slain by Hoshea. 


Hosuea: attacked and made 
tributary by Shalmaneser ; dis- 
continuing tribute and secretly 
negotiating with Egypt he is 
imprisoned by the Assyrian 
monarch. Samaria is besieged, 
and its overthrow completed 
by Sargon. End of the Israel- 
ite Monarchy. 


CONTEMPORARY ANNALS 779 


Greece. The First Olympiad, 776, from which dates were reckoned. 


Assyria. Solar Eclipse, June 13, 763, which helps to determine 
the dates in the Eponym Canon. 


Rome. Traditional date of the building of the city, 753 (a.U.0.). 


Babylon : the era of Nabonassar, 747, from which the dates in Ptolemy's 
Canon are reckoned. 


Assyria. TIGLATH-PILESER ITI (Pul), usurper, 745, 


Syria. Rezrn, King of Damascus, 745-732, defeated and slain by 
Tiglath-pileser—the kingdom entirely crushed. 


Egypt. Shabaka, or So, the Ethiopian, first king of the Twenty-fifth 
dynasty, 735, 2 Ki17‘; Tirhakah last king of that dynasty, 2 Ki 19° 
Is 37°. 


Assyria. Capture of Damascus by Tiglath-pileser III, 732. Ahaz, 
called Joahaz of Judah, and the tributary princes summoned to meet 
the Assyrian king at Damascus. See 2Ki16'°. Suarmaneser IV, 727; 
Sargon, usurper, 723-2 ; SENNACHERIB, son of Sargon, 705. 







780 THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY 


JUDAH B.C. Ispaen r 
year of his reign, invaded by The Ten Tribes were carried 
Sargon*, Is 10*-*). Isaiah’s into captivity, and dispersed 
prophecy of deliverance and of through the regions subject to 
a spiritual kingdom (1!). Ill- Assyria. Their place in Pales- 
ness of the king, and recovery, tine was filled by colonists from — 
with promise of life prolonged. the East—a mixed people, from 
Campaign of Sennacherib a- whom sprang the SAMARITANS. 


gainst Judah, sudden destruc- 
tion of his army, 2 Ki 18'7-%7 
19 Is 36°-* 37 a Ch 32° (Ps 
76). Embassy of Merodach- 
baladan from Babylon. Isaiah 
predicts the Captivity, Isa 39. . 


Tue Jup#AN MonakcHY AFTER THE Faun or SAMARIA 


For the latter part of Hezekiah’s reign see above. 

B.C. 

697 ManasseH restores idolatry and persecutes the worshi ippers of 
Jehovah. Unavailing protest of the prophets, 2 Ki 20'*!® a1!—# 
2 Ch33)®. (Tradition of Isaiah’s martyrdom.) Taken captive 
by the Assyrian king Esar-haddon and deported to Babylonia. 
His conversion and reinstatement in his kingdom, 2Ch33'7-7 — 
(not mentioned in Kings), Nahum’s ministry, c, 660. 


642 Amon: his impiety, a Ki 21%? 2 Ch 397°; slain by his 
servants. 

640 Jostan: his piety, measures against idolatry, restoration of the 
Temple ; discovery of the Book of the Law, 2 Ki22 2 Ch 34. 
Huldah, prophetess. Great celebration of the Passover, 2 Ki 
2377-°5 2 Ch 35!""*. Prophets—Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habak- 
kuk. The king slain in battle at Megiddo: greatly lamented. 

608 JeHoanaz or Shallum; son of Josiah, king for three months ; 
deposed and imprisoned by Pharaoh-neco; subsequently exiled 
to Egypt, where he died, 2 Ki 23°°** 2 Ch 36*4 

JeHOIAKIM or Eliakim ; eldest son of Josiah, sm tributary king 
by Neco. 


* Such appears the best explanation of 2 Ki 18'. There must be 
a transcriber’s error, either of ‘ twenty-fourth’ for ‘fourteenth,’ or of 
‘Sennacherib’ for ‘Sargon.’ The latter solution, which is that of 
most modern writers, is here adopted. 


CONTEMPORARY ANNALS 781 


Babylon. MrropacH-BALADAN, 722-710. Sargon conquers him and 
holds the kingdom from 710, 


Babylon continues subject to Assyria, with occasional revolts. Esar- 
haddon completes the subjugation and holds his court alternately at 
Babylon and Nineveh, 681-668. His successors occupy the throne 
until 625, when Naxsorozassar becomes viceroy and throws off the 
~ Assyrian yoke, c. 610. 


Egypt. Trrwaxan (Twenty-fifth dynasty), 693, vanquished by Hsar- 
haddon, and, attempting to regain his kingdom, finally conquered by 
Asshur-bani-pal, 666. PHaraon-neco (Twenty-sixth dynasty), 610. 
Pharaoh defeated at Carchemish, and finally repelled from the region 
of the Euphrates, 605, 2 Ki 24". 

Assyria, TESAR-HADDON, 681. ASSHUR-BANI-PAL, son of Esar-haddon, 
‘the great and noble Asnapper,’ Ezr 4!°, 669. Sardanapalus of the 
Greeks. Nineveh finally destroyed by the Chaldzans, 606. 


Babylon. Nabopolassar (king, 625-605) loses his western provinces 
to Pharaoh-neco of Egypt, 609. Sends his son, NEBucHADREZZAR (or 


782 THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY 


B.C. 

606 After the battle of Carchemish the vassalage of Judah was trans- 
ferred to Babylon. Beginning of the Seventy Years’ Captivity. 
Daniel and his companions taken to Babylon. After three 
years Jehoiakim broke his oath of allegiance (2 Ki 24"), and 
troubles ensued, in the midst of which the king fell in some 
unknown way (see Jer 22'5~1"), 

598 JeHoracutn, son of Jehoiakim, succeeded to his uneasy throne, but 
occupied it only three months, Nebuchadrezzar himself arriving 
at Jerusalem, and sending him captive to Babylon, 2 Ki 24°. 

ZepDEKIAH or Mattaniah, son of Josiah, and uncle therefore to 
Jehoiachin ; weak and perfidious, intriguing with Egypt against 
Babylon, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Jeremiah ; 
Nebuchadrezzar's captain, Nebuzaradan, took Jerusalem after 
a protracted siege, slew many of the chief men, and carried 

587 Zedekiah, blinded and in chains, to Babylon (fulfilling two 
predictions, Jer 32° Eze 12). The Temple was burned; the 
people were deported, only a few poor persons left to till 
the land. Jeremiah’s Lamentations over the fallen city and the 
desolated land. Ezekiel notes these transactions from his 
home in Babylonia. Obadiah refers to the cruel exultation of 
Edom over the catastrophe. 

Gedaliah appointed governor of the ‘remnant’; slain by Ishmael, 
who schemes to carry them to the Ammonites. His plan is 
frustrated, but the people seek refuge in Egypt, against the 
warning protest of Jeremiah, 2 Ki 25%-° Jer 41-43’. They 
forcibly carry the prophet with them, and he closes his ministry 
at Tahpanhes (Daphne), Jer 43, 44. 

593-573 Prophecies of Ezekiel, dated from the fifth year of Jehoia- 
chin’s captivity to the twenty-fifth. The ‘thirtieth year, Eze 1', 
is explained by the Targum as the thirty-first after the dis- 
covery of the Law by Hilkiah : many expositors understand it 
as the thirtieth from the accession of Nabopolassar; more 
probably it means the thirtieth year of Ezekiel’s life—the 
priestly age. The year nearly corresponds with the date of 
Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles, Jer ag. 

608-537 Prophecies and Visions of Daniel 

561 Jehoiachin’s captivity relaxed by Evil-merodach. 

536 Decree of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the Temple, and the resto- 
ration of the Jews to their own country, 2 Ch 36°*5 Eze 13. 

Return of the Jews. Cyrus restores the vessels of the Temple. 
An altar set up, Ezr 1°-" 2 3!’ (Ps 87 107 111-114 116 117 125 
127 128 134). 

Zerubbabel governor of Judwa, nephew and successor of Shealtiel 
(Salathiel, Mt). See p. 541 and 1 Ch 3—®, 

Joshua (Jeshua) high-priest. 


535 Foundation of the Second Temple, under the direction of Shesh- 
bazzar and Zerubbabel, Ezr 358 5'° (Ps 84 66). 

522 Building of the Temple opposed by the Samaritans, Ezr 4'~* 
(Ps 129°. 








—— © 


— a 


* CONTEMPORARY ANNALS 783 


Nebuchadnezzar), to recover them, 606. Neco overthrown in the 
decisive battle at Carchemish. Nebuchadrezzar soon afterwards (605) 
succeeds his father. 


Egypt. PHARAOH-HOPHRA, 589 (of the Twenty-sixth dynasty), the 
Apries of the Greeks, attempted to relieve Jerusalem besieged by 
Nebuchadrezzar, but in vain, Jer 37. Hophra was deposed by his 
own subjects, and finally murdered. 


Greece. The ‘Seven Wise Men’; end of sixth century. Legislation 
of Soton at Athens, 594. Pursistratus at Athens, 560. 


Babylon. Conquests of Nebuchadrezzar: Tyre, 579; Egypt, 569. 
Death of Nebuchadrezzar, 561. Accession of Evit-mEropacu; slain 
and succeeded by Nerrerissar (Nergal-sharezer), 559; followed (556) 
by LaBorosnaRcHoD (murdered in the same year) and NaBu-NaHID 
(Nabonidus or Labynetus), an inert king, who made BetsHazzar his 
son viceroy in Babylon. 


Media and Persia. Cyrus, son of Cambyses, King of Persia, and 
nephew of Cyaxares, King of the Medes (who is supposed by some to 
have been ‘ Darius the Mede’), after a career of conquest in Western 
Asia, invaded Babylonia in 538, defeated Nabonidus, and sent Gobryas 
to occupy Babylon, which he entered without resistance. This Gobryas 
has also been identified with the mysterious Darius; see §§ 162, 192. 


Persia. Death of Cyrus from a wound in battle, 529; his son 
Cambyses succeeds him. 
Egypt conquered by Cambyses, 525. 


784 THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY 


B.C. 

522 Accession of Smerdis (? the Artaxerxes of Ezr 47—"), 
Building of the Temple arrested by order of the Persian king. 

521 Under Darius Hystaspis the building was resumed, Haggai and 

520 Zechariah incite the people to the work, and exhort them to 
repentance, Ezr 4% 5! Hag 13" Ezr 5 Hag 112-5 g!-® Zee 11-4 
Hag 2!°-%8 Zec 17-2! 2-6. 

519 The building again interrupted, and resumed, Ezr 5°? 6! 
(Ps 138) Zee 7 8. 

515 Dedication of the Temple, Ezr 6'*-?? (Psalms 48 81 146-150). 






: 


A blank in the record, 


478 Esther made queen by Xerxes. 

473 Haman’s plot against the Jews: its frustration ; institution of the 
Feast of Purim. 

458 Ezra commissioned by Artaxerxes Longimanus to visit Jerusalem ; 
he causes the people to put away their heathen wives, Ezr 
7-10. 

446 Nehemiah commissioned by Artaxerxes to visit Jerusalem as 
governor (Tirshatha), and to rebuild the wall, Ne x 2!—*. 

445 Tobiah, Sanballat, and Gashmu (Geshem) strive to hinder the 
work, Ne 2°—?° (3) 4. 

Nehemiah relieves the Jews oppressed by usury; his own 

generosity, Ne 5. 

444 The wall completed by the Jews and dedicated, Ne 6'-7. 
Great celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles; Ezra publicly 
reads the Law, and offers solemn prayer, 8, 9. 

434 Nehemiah returns to Persia. 

432 Second commission of Nehemiah, and measures of reformation, 
Ne 7-13. Malachi prophesies: probably a contemporary of 
Nehemiah, but the date is variously estimated. 


Enp or THE OLp TEsTAMENT HisToRY 


Detached Genealogies, &c., were probably inserted after the com- 
pletion of the Canon. See 1 Ch 1-9 Ne 1a!°8, 


CONTEMPORARY ANNALS 785 


Mepo-Perstan Kines arTeR Cyrus :— 

529 Cambyses (Ahasuerus, Ezr 4°). 

522 Smerdis, Magian impostor (Artaxerxes, Ezr 47—"), 

521 Darius, son of Hystaspes. 

485 Xerxes, son of Darius (Ahasuerus, Est). 

465 Artaxerxes Longimanus (Artaxerxes, Ne). 

424 Darius II (Nothus). 

404 Artaxerxes II (Mnemon). } Not mentioned in Scripture. 

359 Artaxerxes III (Ochus). 

336 Darius IIIT (Codomannus), Ne 127%, a later insertion. 
Codomannus was the Darius vanquished by Alexander the Great, 


B.C. 330; and with his fall the Persian Empire passed away (see Dan 
239-40 79.6 Q5-6.20.22) 


Rome. The republic established, c. 508. Decemyirs appointed, 451. 
Laws of the Twelve Tables. 
Teachers in the Farther Hast. 


Death of Conrucius, 478 (Dr. Legge). 
Death of Buppwa, 477 (Max Miller). 


Greece invaded by the Persian kings. 
490 Battle of Marathon; Darius Hystaspis defeated by the Greeks. 
484 Birth of Herodotus. 
480 Invasion of Greece by Xerxes; battles of Thermopyle and 
Salamis. 


471 Birth of Thucydides (d. c. gor). 


444 Pericles supreme at Athens. 
(c.) Birth of Xenophon. 


431 Beginning of the Peloponnesian war. 
Birth of Plato (d. 347). 


3£ 


786 


B.C. 


413 
c. 409 


873 


341 


332 
323 


321 
320 


314 
306 
802 
800 


292 


285 


277 


JEWISH HISTORY 


Interval between the Old 


PALESTINE 


Joiada, high-priest, son of Eliashib, Ne r2!1-22, 
Rival temple built on Mount Gerizim. 


Jonathan, also called Johanan, high-priest, Ne ra®*. 


Jaddua, high-priest, Ne 12-22, 


ALEXANDER having destroyed Tyre visits Jerusalem. Jaddua 
averts his anger (traditional). 
Alexander dies; his kingdom divided. 


Onias I, high-priest. 

Protemy I (Soter), King of Egypt, captures Jerusalem, plants 
Jews in Alexandria and Cyrene. 

Antigonus conquers Palestine from Ptolemy. 

The dominion of Alexander formed into four kingdoms as 
foretold by Daniel. 

Palestine retaken by Ptolemy. 


Simon the Just, high-priest. 
Eleazar, high-priest. 
Version of the LXX commenced at Alexandria under Protemy IT. 


Manasseh, high-priest. 


CONTEMPORARY ANNALS 787 


and New Testaments 


Bc. Perrsta, Syria, AND Ecypr 


404 Artaxerxes II (Mnemon), Persia. 
401 Death of Cyrus the Younger. 


859 Arraxerxes III (Ochus), Persia. 


338 Arsxs (or Arogus). 

336 Darrius III, Codomannus, Persia. 

834 AurxanDEeR, defeats Persia on the 
Granicus; 333, at Issus; 331, at 
Arbela ; the Persian Empire ends. 


328 Protemy I (Soter), son of Lagos, gains 
Egypt. 
The list of kings below as in Mahaffy ; ‘ Em- 
pire of the Ptolemies,’ 1895. 


312 Setxrucus (Nicator) obtains Syria. 
Era of the Seleucidz begins. 


301 Battle of Ipsus. Antigonus defeated 
by Seleucus, and slain. 
Palestine alternately subject to these kingdoms. 
Egypt. B.C. Syria. 


285 Ptolemy II 
(Philadelphus). 
280 Antiochus I 
(Soter). 


3E2 


B.C. 


401 


399 
387 


384 
382 


356 


341 


320 


300 


287 


264 


Evuroes 


Retreat of Ten Thou- 
sand Greeks. 

Death of Socrates. 

Rome burnt by the 
Gauls. 

Birth of Aristotle (d. 
322). 

Birth of Demosthenes 
(d. 322). 


Birth of Alexander the 
Great. 

Birth of Epicurus (d. 
270). 


Berosus, Chaldean 
historian, fl. 


Manetho of Helio- 
polis, fl 


Birth of Archimedes 
(d. 21a) 


First Punic War. 


788 


B.O. 


250 


219 
217 


205 


143 


INTERVAL BETWEEN THE OLD 


PALESTINE 


Onias II, high-priest, for a time withholds tribute from — 


Ptolemy III (Euergetes). Hellenistic innovations begin to 
spread amongst the upper classes. 


Antiocuus III (the Great) tries to obtain Palestine. 

Simon II, high-priest. 

Protemy IV (Philopator) defeats him at Raphia, but is pre- 
vented from entering the Holy of Holies; persecutes the 
Jews in Alexandria and alienates those in Juda. 

AntiocHvs (the Great) obtains Palestine. 


The sect of the Sadducees founded. 
Onias III, high-priest. 


Probable date of Ecclesiasticus. 


Joshua (or Jason), brother of Onias, buys high-priesthood of 
Antiochus. 

Menelaus, high-priest. Onias murdered. 

Antiochus takes Jerusalem, slays 40,000 persons, plunders the 
Temple. 

Antiochus persecutes the Jews, desecrates the Temple. Noble 
revolt of Mattathias and his five sons. 

Judas Maccabeus purifies the Temple and institutes the Feast 
of Dedication. 

Alcimus, high-priest. Menelaus slain. 


Judas Maccabeeus slain in battle at Eleasa : succeeded in com- 
mand by Jonathan, youngest son of Mattathias. 

Jonathan becomes high-priest ; first of the line of the Hasmoncean 
priest-princes. 


Simon, last of the five sons of Mattathias, becomes high-priest. 














AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


Syria anD Eeypr 


B.C. Egypt. 


247 Ptolemy III 
(Euergetes). 


222 Ptolemy IV 
(Philopator). 


205 Ptolemy V (Epi- 
phanes). 


182 Ptolemy 
(Eupator). 

182 Ptolemy 
(Philometor). 


VI 


146 Ptolemy VIII 
(Philopator 
Neos). 


145 Ptolemy IX 


(Physcon, or 


Euergetes II). 





Vil 


B.C. Syria. 
260 Antiochus 
(Theos). 


II 


246 Seleucus 
(Callinicus). 

225 Seleucus III 
(Ceraunus). 

223 Antiochus III 
(the Great). 


II 


187 Seleucus IV 
(Philopator). 


175 Antiochus IV 
(Epiphanes), 


164 Antiochus V 
(Eupator). 

162 Demetrius I 
(Soter). 


150 Alexander- 
Balas, usurper. 

146 Demetrius II 

(Nicator). 


145 Antiochus VI, 
son of Balas, 
aided by Try- 
phon opposes 
Demetrius. 











789 


B.C. EUROPE 


219 Beginning of Second 
Punic War. 


216 Battle of Cannez. 


202 Hannibal defeated in 


Africa by Scipio 
Africanus. 

201 End of Second Punic 
War. 


184 Death of Plautus. 


168 Macedonian War. 
Battle of Pydna. 


159 Death of Terence. 


149 Third Punic War be- 
gins, laststhree years. 
146 Carthage taken and 
destroyed by Scipio, 
Corinth by Mummius, 








4): 
t 


790 INTERVAL BETWEEN THE OLD 


B.C. PALESTINE 


141 Simon frees the Jews from foreign rule; the sovereignty and 
the priesthood confirmed by the Jews to him and his posterity 


1385 Simon murdered by one Ptolemy. John Hyrcanus, his second 
son, succeeds him. 


180 John Hyrcanus throws off the Syrian yoke. He destroys the 
temple on Mount Gerizim. 


107 Aristobulus succeeds his father Hyrcanus, and assumes the title 
of King of the Jews. 
106 ALExaNDER Janna&us succeeds his brother Aristobulus. 


79 Janneus dies. ALEXANDRA his wife succeeds, and makes her 
son Hyrcanus high-priest, and favours the Pharisees. 

75 Birth of Hillel. 

70 Alexandra dies. Hyrcanus II succeeds, but is forced to yield 
the crown to his younger brother ARIsTroBULUs. 


65 Hyrcanus endeavours to regain the crown. 


B.C. 


117 Cleopatra 


AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


Syria AND Eeyer 


Egypt. 


Iil 
and her sons: 
Ptolemy X (La- 
thyrus, Soter 
II), Ptolemy XI 
(Alexander I). 


81 Ptolemy XII 


(Alexander IT). 


80 Ptolemy XIII 


(Auletes). 





B.C. 
142 


137 


95 


83 


69 


64 


Syria. 
Tryphon usurps 
throne of Syria 
(Babylon). 
Antiochus VII 
(Sidetes), bro- 
ther of Deme- 
trius II, defeats 
Tryphon. 

He is slain in 


Parthia. Re- 
lease of De- 
metrius IT. 


Alexander - Ze- 
bina. 
Antiochus VIII 
(Grypus). 
Antiochus 
(Cyzicenus). 


Ix 


Antiochus x 


(Eusebes),. 


Tigranes of Ar- 
menia. 


Tigranes con- 
quered by Lu- 
cullus. 
Antiochus ‘the 
Asiatic,’ the last 
King of Syria 
set up by the 
Romans. 
Pompey com- 
pletes the con- 
quest of Syria, 





791 


B.C. EUROPE 


133-121 The Gracchi. 


111-106 Jugurthine War. 


106 Birth of Pompey and 
Cicero. 
100 Julius 
(d. 44). 
95 Birth 
(d. 55). 
90-88 The Social (Italian) 
War. 
Civil War of Marius 
and Sulla. 
86 Birth of Sallust (d. 34). 


Cesar born 


of Lucretius 


70 Consulship of Pompey 
and Crassus. 
Birth of Vergil (d. 19). 


792 
B.C. 


63 


57 


54 


47 


43 


40 


87 
35 
34 


INTERVAL BETWEEN THE OLD 


PALESTINE 


Pompey supports Hyrcanus ; takes Jerusalem ; great slaughter 
of the Jews. Pompey enters the Holy of Holies. 


Aristobulus and his son Alexander; raising disturbances, are 
vanquished by Gabinius, the Roman Governor of Syria. 


Crassus plunders the Temple. 


ANTIPATER, appointed by Julius Casar Procurator of Juda, 
makes his son Herop Governor of Galilee, and Puasatt, of 
Jerusalem, : 


Antipater poisoned ; Herod and Phasael revenge his death. 


The Parthians, having taken Jerusalem, slay Phasael, and 
place Antrconus (last Hasmonzan) on throne of Jerusalem. 
Herod fiees to Rome, and is appointed King of the Jews. 

Herod retakes Jerusalem, and establishes himself as King of 
Judea ; reigns thirty-four years. 

Herod makes Arisfobwus III, brother of his wife Mariamne. 
high-priest, but afterwards murders him, 

Hillel and Shammai. 


Execution of Mariamne, 





B.C. 


58 


51 


47 


41 


30 


AND NEW TESTAMENTS 


Syria AnD Esypt 


Egypt. 


Auletes banish- 
ed for awhile. 
(Reign of Ber- 
enice for two 
years.) Auletes 
returns. 


Cleopatra VI, 
daughter of Au- 
letes, and her 
brothers Pto- 
lemy XIV and 
Ptolemy XV. 
The Wisdom of 
sole 


Solomon (?) 
Cleopatra 
Queen of Egypt. 


Meeting of An- 
tony and Cleo- 
patra at Tarsus. 


Deaths of An- 
tony and Cleo 
patra, 


B.C. 


Syria. 
and annexes it 
to the Roman 


Empire and 
forces Tigranes 
to peace. 


Roman Governors. 


57 Gabinius. 


54 Crassus; over- 
thrown by the 
Parthians. 


43 C.CassiusLongi- 
nus. After this 
Syria ruled by 
legati. 


B.C. 


63 
60 


59 


58-51 Czesar’s 


52 
49 


48 


46 


44 
43 


31 


793 
EUROPE 


Cicero, Consul. Cati- 
line conspiracy. 
First triumvirate, 
Pompey, Casar, CRas- 
SUS. 

Birth of Livy (d. 17 
A.D.). 


campaigns 
in Gaul. 


Pompey sole consul. 


Civil war between 
Czesar and Pompey. 


Battle of Pharsalia. 


Murder of Pompey in 
Egypt. 
Reformation of the 


Calendar by Ceesar. 
Czesar assassinated, 
Second triumvirate, C. 

Octavius, M. Antony, 

M. Leripus. Cicero 

put to death. 

Birth of Ovid (d. 18 
A.D.). 

Battle of Philippi. 
Deaths of Brutus and 
Cassius. The Roman 
world subject to the 
triumvirate. 


| 32 War between Octavius 


and Antony. 

Battle of Actium. 
Establishment of the 
Roman Empire. 


794 THE NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY 


B.O. PALESTINE 


25 Herod rebuilds Samaria, and calls it Sebaste, 


22 Herod begins te build Casarea. Trachonitis, Auranitis, and 
Batanea are added to his dominions, 
Simon appointed high-priest. 
17 Herod after two years’ preparation begins to rebuild and 
enlarge the Temple. 


Aristobulus and Alexander, the sons of Mariamne, strangled. 

Simon deposed, and Mattathias made high-priest, who is also 
deposed in favour of Joazar, son of Simon. 

4 Birth of Jesus Curist (the common era of a.D, commences 

four years later), 


an 


Tue New Testament History 
A.D. 
4 Brrr or Jesus CHRIST. 


8 The child Jesus in the Temple. 


26 Beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry. 

27-30 Our Lord’s ministry, chiefly in Galilee; selection and mission 
of the Apostles. 

29 Christ at the Feast of Tabernacles, 22nd Tisri (Oct.), and at the 
Feast of Dedication, 25th Chisleu (Dec.). 

30 Crucirrxron, ResurREcTION, and Ascension of CuRIsT. 

Pentecost : Descent of the Holy Spirit. 

33-4 Martyrdom of Stephen. Great persecution by the Jews. 
Conversion of Paul. 

35 Paul's first visit to Jerusalem. 

[For the different views of chronologers on the dates in Acts, 
especially as connected with the life of Paul, see Parallel Table, 
Introduction to Acts, §§ 473, 474. The dates in the present table 
are chiefly from Prof. W. M. Ramsay. ] 

Between 40 and 50 (?) Epistle of James, the brother of the Lord, 
to Christians of the Dispersion. ; 





CONTEMPORARY ANNALS 795 


Syria anp Ecypr B.C. EuRoPE 
B.C. Egypt. B.c. Syria. 
27 Made a Roman! 27 Syria made an/ 27 Octavius made Em- 
province. imperial _pro- peror for ten years, 
vince. and receives the title 
AuveusTUs. 
25 The Gate of Janus 
23 M. Vipsanius shut. 


Agrippa legatus, 
20 Augustus visits 
Syriaand meets} 18 Imperial dignity con- 
Herod. firmed, 8 B.c., 3 and 
12 4.D. 


9-8 C. Sentius Sa- 
turnus legatus. 
7 Census of Pales- 
tine, 


ConTEMPORARY ANNALS 
A.D. 

4 Death of Herop THE GREaT. ARCHELAUS obtains Judea, Samaria, 
and Idumza ; Herop Antipas, Galilee ; Herop Puiirp, the NE. 
trans-Jordanic districts. 

6 Archelaus banished. 

7 Corontus, Procurator of Judza; Ananus, high-priest. 

8 Cyrenius completes the ‘ enrolment,’ Lu 2. 

9 Marcus AmBIvivs, procurator. 

13 Annrus Rurus, procurator. 

14 Death of the Emperor Augustus ; accession of Tiberius. 
15 VaLeRius GRatus, procurator. 

17 Caiaphas, high-priest. 

26 Pontius Pirate, procurator. 


; 


83 Deposition and banishment of Pontius Pilate. Death of Herod 
Philip. 

37 Death of Tiberius : his successor Carus CALIGULA; MAaARCELLUS, 
procurator ; Jonathan, high-priest ; Hrrop Acrippa obtains the 
tetrarchy of Philip. 

38 Birth of Josephus, the Jewish historian. 

39 Herod Antipas deposed ; the tetrarchy of Galilee conferred upon 


H. Agrippa. 


796 THE NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY 


A.D. 
40 Rest of the Church, in consequence of Jewish opposition to the 
profanation of the Temple by the emperor. 
Conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch. Evangelization of Samaria 
(the deacon Philip). 
43 Conversion of Cornelius through Peter’s ministry. Preaching to 
Gentiles at Antioch by fugitives from Jerusalem; Barnabas 
brings Paul to that city ; disciples first called Christians. 
44 Martyrdom of James the son of Zebedee. Imprisonment of Peter: 
his miraculous deliverance and departure from Jerusalem. 
46 Paul and Barnabas visit Jerusalem with alms for the brethren. 
47 First missionary journey of Paul (with Barnabas) in Cyprus and Asia 
Minor. 
49 Council at Jerusalem on the admission of Gentiles into the 
Church. 
51 Second missionary journey of Paul (with Silas). Introduction of the 
gospel into Europe (Macedonia). Visit to Galatia. 
Y 51,52 Paul at Athens and Corinth. 
Epistles to the Thessalonians. 
53 Paul visits Jerusalem, and returns to Antioch. 
54 Third missionary journey: Galatia, Phrygia, to Ephesus, where the 
Apostle spends the greater part of three years. 
57 First Epistle to the Corinthians, from Ephesus. 
Paul in Macedonia. Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 
57 or 58 Epistle to the Galatians. 
58 Paulin Achaia (Corinth). Epistle to the Romans. 
Paul at Jerusalem. Arrest in the Temple. 
57-59 Paul in Cesarea. 
59, 60 Paul sails for Rome: shipwreck ; reaches Rome. 
_ 62, 63 Epistles to the churches in Proconsular Asia (‘Ephesians’); 
a to the Colossians and Philemon: Philippians. 
62 End of history in the Acts. Paul tried and acquitted ; leaves Rome, 
v- 63(?) First Epistle of Peter, from ‘Babylon,’ perhaps Rome. 
63-66 Paul travels in Macedonia, Asia Minor, Crete, and perhaps 
Spain. 
64 First Epistle to Timothy. 
+ Epistle to Titus. 
Persecution of Christians in Rome. 


ba ge 


66 Paul winters at Nicopolis ; sent to Rome. 
67 Second trial of the Apostle at Rome. 
VY ¢. 68 Epistle to the Hebrews (anonymous). 

67 or 68 Second Epistle to Timothy. 
Second Epistle of Peter. Epistle of Jude (?). 
Paul (and Peter?) martyred at Rome. 
Probable date of the Apocalypse of John. 

70 Christians retire to Pella. 


V «90 Epistles of John. 
95 Persecution of Christians, Jews, and ‘ philosophers’ by Domitian. 
Date (according to some) of the Apocalypse. The Apostle John is 
thought to have survived until nearly the close of the century. 


CONTEMPORARY ANNALS 797 


A.D. 

40 Command to erect a colossal statue of Caligula in the Holy of 
Holies at Jerusalem. 

41 Caligula assassinated : Ciaupius his successor; H. Agrippa adds 
Judza to his tetrarchies; the kingdom of Judza, 


44 Death of H. Agrippa at Ceesarea. 
Cusrius Fapus, procurator. 
46 Great famine in Judza. 
TrBERIUS ALEXANDER, procurator. 
48 VenTIDIus CumANvs, procurator, with Frurx. 


51 Ferurx, sole procurator. 


52 Jews banished from Rome by Claudius (with ‘ Chaldzans, sooth- 
sayers (mathematici) and astrologers,’ Tacitus). 


54 Death of Claudius: Nrro his successor. 


59 Porctus Festus, procurator. 
61 Joseph, son of Simon, high-priest. 


62 ALBiInus, procurator. 


64 Gxssrus Fiorus, procurator. 
Completion of ‘ Herod’s’ temple. 
Burning of Rome: blame laid on the Christians. 
66 Jewish war begins. Vespasian the Roman general. Galilee and 
Perza subjugated. 


68 Death of Nero. Gaza proclaimed his successor. 

69 OrHo, Viretuius, VESPASIAN successively raised to the imperial 
throne. Titus commands his father’s army in Judza. 

70 Siege and capture of Jerusalem. 

79 Vespasian succeeded by Titus. 

81 Titus succeeded by Domrr1an. 


96 Death of Domitian (NeRva, his successor, d. 98, followed by 
TRAJAN). 


APPENDIX II 
NATURAL HISTORY 


I. Animals of Scripture 


1. QUADRUPEDS 


Ape. Heb. Qoph (or monkey); from S. India or Ceylon, 1 Ki ro” 
2 Ch 971. 

Ass. Heb. Chémér (reddish), Gen 12'° 457%. ’Athon (she-ass), Num 
2271-38, ‘Ayir (colt), Is 30%74. Péré (wild ass), Ps 1o4™. 

Badger. Heb. Tachash. Certainly not the badger: probably the 
porpoise or seal. R. V. reads for ‘ badgers’ skins’ (outer covering 
of the ark) ‘ sealskins’ (marg. or porpoise-skins), Ex 25°, &c. 

Bat. Heb. ‘Atalleph, Dt 141* Is 2”°. 

Bear. Heb. Dibh. The Syrian bear of naturalists, 2 Sa 17° Pr a8". 

Behemoth. Plural of Heb. word for beast or cattle; the hippopotamus 
(denoting bigness), Job 4o'5~*. 

Boar. Heb. Chazir, the wild boar, devastator of vineyards, Ps 80%. 

Bull. Several words for the male of the herd. Heb. ’Abbir (mighty), 
Ps 68°°; Bagdr, Ex 291, &c. ‘Eghel (bull-calf), Jer 31°* Par 
(bullock), passim. Shor, generic, an animal of the ox species, very 
frequent. 

Camel. Heb. Gamal, passim. 

Cattle. Heb. Béhtmah (see Behemoth), also rendered beast, a collective 
word, passim; Bagar, Eccl 27 Joel 13%. But a frequent word is 
Miqnéh, literally possession or substance, cattle in the East 
being the most valuable property, Gen 4”°, &e. 

Chamois. Heb. Zémer, Dt 145. Probably a species of wild sheep, 
‘leaper.’ 

Coney. Heb. Shaphan, ‘the hider.’ Hyrax Syriacus, a small quadruped 
of the rabbit kind; dweller in rocky cavities, Dt 147 Ps 1o4"* 
Prgo0*. 

Deer, Fallow. Properly the roebuck, Dt 14° 1 Ki 4* (R.V.). Heb. 
Yachmir. 

Dog. Heb. Kélebh. Wot domesticated as in Europe, but unclean, 
wild and fierce in towns and villages of the East, the terror of the 
streets. Occasionally set to guard the flock, Job 3o0', but in that 
character regarded as vile and loathsome. 

Dromedary. Three Hebrew words are so rendered: Béker, Is 60° 
Jer 2* (R.V. ‘young camel’); Rékesh, « Ki 4% (R. V. ‘swift 
steed’); Rammak, Est 8° (lit. ‘ offspring of mares’). 








I. ANIMALS OF SCRIPTURE 799 


Ferret. A lizard, probably the gecko (R.V.), Lev 118°. Heb. 
*Andqgah, ‘ groaner.’ 

Fox. Or jackal (R. V. marg.), Ps 631°! Ct 2%, &&. Heb. Shi‘al. 

Goat. Heb. ‘Ez, the usual word, Gen 15°, &e. ‘Afttiidh, ‘he-goat,’ Ps 6615 
Is 34°. Satr (hairy), Lev 16 throughout, 2Ch 2978 Eze 435. Wild 
goat, Ya‘el, 1 Sa 24”, perhaps the ibex. °Aggd, Dt 145. 

Greyhound. Some render the Heb. Zarzir (loin-girt) or war-horse 
(R. V. marg.). 

Hare. Heb. ’Arnébheth, Levy 11° Dt 147. It does not really ‘chew the 
cud,’ but has a habit of moving the jaw as if doing so. ‘For 
popular guidance this description was better than a more scientific 
one.’—Dr. P. ScHarr. 

. Hart. Heb. ’Ayydl, Ps 421, &. Young hart, fawn. ‘Opher, Ct 29-17 814, 

Horse. Heb. Sits, passim. Stisah, fem. mare, or perhaps collective, 
a team of horses, Ct 1°. 

Hyena. Not in English version, but according to Gesenius the right 
rendering of tsabhiia’, ‘speckled bird,’ Jer 12°. Zeboim, 1 Sa 1318, 
‘the valley of hyenas.’ 

Leopard. Heb. Namér, ‘spotted,’ Is 11° Jer 135. 

Lion. The number and variety of names expressively show the 
attention aroused in a pastoral community by this terror of their 
flocks and herds. Heb. Laish, Shachdl, ’Ari (tearer), Képhir (young 
lion), La@bhi (lion or lioness). AJ] these words occur in Job 4!) 

Mole. Heb. Chdpharpérah, ‘digger of holes,’ Is 2°. (Gesen, rat) prob. 
of burrowing and gnawing animals generally. Tinshémeth, Ley 11°, 
the chameleon. 

Mouse. Heb. ‘Akbar, ‘ burrower,’ esp. field-mouse, Lev 117°, &e. 

Mule. Heb. Péred, Pirdah, generally. In Est 8" Rekhesh, ‘swift steed,’ 
as t Ki 478 (A. V. ‘dromedary’) Mic 11°. In Gen 36™ the word is 
different, and probably means ‘ hot springs’ (so R. V.). 

Pygarg. <A Greek word (LXX), ‘white-haunched,’ some species of 
antelope, Dt 14°. Heb. Dishén. 

Roebuck. Roe, the gazelle. Heb. Tsébhi, f. Tstbhiyyah, in general, 
Pr 5)%. Yadlah, ‘doe’ (R. V.) or chamois. 

Satyrs. Heb. Séirim, ‘hairy ones,’ Is 1371, perhaps he-goats; or 
generally for wild denizens of the wilderness. Twice rendered 
‘devils,’ Lev 17’ 2 Ch 11 (‘he-goats’ R. V.) as objects of worship. 

Sheep. Several words so rendered, as natural among a pastoral 
people. Heb. Seh, ‘one of a flock.’ Tsdn, ‘flock.’ Kébhes (fem. 
Kibhsah) or Kesebh, ‘he-lamb.’ Rakhél, ‘ewe.’ °Ayil, ‘ram.’ Gr. 
mpoBarov, sheep. dapvos or dpyov, ‘lamb.’ oipyn, ‘ flock, 

Swine. Heb. Chizir, Gr. xotpos, Lev 11’, &e. 

Unicorn. Heb. Rém. Properly buffalo or (as R.V.) wild ox, Num 
2372, &e. 

Weasel. Heb. Chdled, ‘glider,’ Lev 11°. 

Whale. Heb. Tannin, any sea-monster. So R.V. Gen 171 Job 7. 
In Eze 32? ‘ dragon.’ 

Wolf. Heb. Zbh, ‘tawny’; Gr. Aveos. The terror of flocks in Pales- 
tine ; a frequent emblem of cruelty and greed. 


800 NATURAL HISTORY 


2. BIRDS. 


Bittern. Heb. Qippid; but more probably porcupine, as R. V., Is 142% 
34" Zep 214. j 

Cormorant. Rather pelican, Is34™Zep2™. Heb. Qa’ath. In Ley 117 
Dt 14'7 the cormorant is intended. See R.V. Heb. Shalakh, 
‘ diver.’ 

Crane. In two passages ‘crane’ and ‘swallow’ should be transposed 
(as R. V.), Is 38'* Jer 87. Heb. Sis and ‘Anir. 

Cuckoo. Rather sea-mew (R. V.), Lev 111° Dt 14%. Heb. Shachaph, 
‘slender.’ 

Dove. Heb. Yénah. Gr. wepiorepd. Frequent in Old Testament. In 
New Testament Mt 3! and parallels; Mt 10% ar!®, &. See 
Turtledove. 

Eagle. Heb. Nésher. Gr. derdés, Dt 19* Is 40°!, &., Rev 47 12™ and var. 
read. 8; for angel see R.V. The gier-eagle, Ley rx Dt 14", 
Heb. Racham, is a species of vulture; and in Mt 24°8 Lu 177 the 
preferable translation seems to be ‘ vultures,’ as R. V. marg. 

Hawk. Heb. Néts (swift-flier), Lev 111*Dt 14Job 39%. Night-hawk, 
Tachmas, Ley 111° Dt 1445. See Swan. 

Heron. Heb. ’Anaphah, Ley 11'° Dt 141°, Possibly the ibis, 

Kite. Heb. Ayyah, Lev 111 Dt 14!8. 

Lapwing. Heb. Diikhiphath, Ley 111 Dt 14"*. Probably the hoopoe 
(R. V.). 

Osprey. Heb. ‘Osniyyah, a species of eagle, Ley rr Dt 14!%, a fish- 
feeding bird. 

Ossifrage. ‘Bone-breaker,’ Heb. Péres, Levy 11 Dt 14%. The gier- 
eagle. 

Ostrich. See Owl. In addition to the passages there cited, Lam 4° 
has the Heb. Y¢‘énim, pl. for ostriches, and Job 39—"® gives a vivid 
description of the ostrich’s habits. The word rendered in A. V. 
‘peacocks’ (Heb. Réndnim) should undoubtedly be ostriches, and 
‘ostrich ’’ at the end of the verse is a mistake. See R. V. : 

Owl. Heb. Yanshtiph (twilight bird). ‘Great owl,’ Ley 1117 Dt 14” 
Is 34". ‘Little owl,’ Kés, Ps ro2° Lev 117 Dt rq4?6. But as this 
word means cup, it possibly here denotes pelican, from its pouch. 
Lilith, ‘screech-owl,’ Is 34'*, properly night-monster (so R. V.). 
Ya‘dnah (crier), always preceded by Bath-, ‘ daughter of,’ means 
the ostrich, Lev 112° Dt 1415 Job 30% Is 1371 3418 43° Jer 50” Mic 1°. 
See R. V. 

Partridge. Heb. Qoré (caller), « Sa 267° Jer 174. 

Peacock. Not a native of Palestine. See Ostrich. Peacocks were 
imported by Solomon, 1 Ki ro**. Heb. pl. Titkiyyim. 

Pelican. See Cormorant. 

Quail. Ex 16° Num 11°15? Ps 105°. Mentioned only in the narrative 
of the Exodus. Heb. Sélav. 

Raven. Heb. ‘Orébh (croaker), also Crow, Gen 87 Ps 147° Pr go", &e. 

Sparrow. Heb. Tsippor (chirper). Any small bird, especially the 
sparrow, Ps 848. Also translated bird (fowl), as Levy 14*~? Ps 8°, 

Stork. Heb. Chdsidah (the pious, from the affectionate care of her 
offspring), Ps 10417 Zee 5°. On Job 39'° see Ostrich, and R. Y. 
(‘kindly ’ or ‘ stork-like ’). 


I. ANIMALS OF SCRIPTURE 801 


Swallow. Heb. Dérdr (free or swift-flying), Ps 848 Pr 262. See Crane. 
Swan. Heb. Yanshémeth, Lev 118 Dt 14!* (A. V.). But R.V. has 
‘horned owl.’ Other interpreters propose Lizard or Pelican. 
Turtledove. Heb. Tor, from the bird’s note, Gen 15? Levy 57-0 
Ps 74° Ct 2. New Testament tpuywy, Lu 2”4. 

Vulture. In Job 28’ for vulture, Heb. Ayyah, read falcon (R. V.), else- 
where kite. So for Dayyah (Da’ah), darter, Lev 11* Dt 14}3 Is 3415, 
See Eagle. 


3. REPTILES 


Adder. Heb. ‘Akhshtibh, Ps140%. Péthen or asp, Ps 5849115. Tsiph‘oni 
(basilisk), Pr 23°. Shéphiphon, the horned snake, Gen 491”. 

Asp. See foregoing, Dt 32°° Job 2014-16 Is 118, 

Chameleon. Koach, Lev 11°° (R. V. ‘ land-crocodile’) ; a large kind of 
lizard. See Mole. 

Cockatrice. Heb. sepha’, Tsiphini, basilisk, Is 118 1479 59° Jer 817, 
See R. V. marg. Adder. 

Dragon. Heb. Tannin, any sea-monster or large land reptile, 
Ps 7435 1487 Is 27! Ez 29%. In Ex 7°~!? translated ‘serpent.’ So 
Ps o1* in R.V., and plur. jackal in Job 307° Ps 44!®, with other 
passages describing desolation. In New Testament (Apoc.) dpaxwr, 
symbolical of the forces of evil. 

Ferret. Heb. ’Anagah, a kind of lizard; perhaps the gecko, Lev 11°”, 
The name signifies ‘ moaning,’ ‘crying,’ as Ps 12° 102° Mal 2°. 

Frog. Heb. Tstphardéa‘, Gk. Barpaxos, Ex 87-15 Rey 16}. 

Leviathan. A Hebrew word untranslated. Job 41 the crocodile, Ps 
10478 a sea-monster ; Is 27! symbol of Babylonian power, comp. 
Ps 7414. In Job 3° for ‘their mourning,’ read ‘leviathan,’ refer- 
ring probably to some form of incantation (R. V.). 

Lizard. Heb. Lita’ah, Lev 11°°, precise species unknown. 

Serpent. Heb. Wachash, Gr. dps, Gen 3 Jn 3%, &c. The generic 
term. 

Serpent (Fiery). Heb. Saraph (the same word as seraph, ‘ burning 
one’), with or without Nachash, Num 2158 Dt 8. In Is 14°° 30° 
called also a flying serpent, from its habit of darting from tree to 
tree. 

Snail. Heb. Chomet, Ley 11°°, rather sand-lizard, as R.V. Shabhlil, 
Ps 588. 

Tortoise. Heb. Tsabh (slow-mover), classed with lizards, Lev 11”, 
otherwise unknown. 

Viper. Heb. ’Eph‘eh, any poisonous serpent, Job 20!* Is 30% 59°, Gr. 
éxtdva, lit. Ac 28°; fig. Mt 37 125# 23°°. 


4. INSECTS (Invertebrata generally). 


Ant. Heb. Némalah, Pr 6° 3075. 

Bee. Heb. Débhorah, Dt 144 Judg 148 Ps 118!” Is 78. 

Beetle. Heb. Chargél (leaper), Lev 1122. Perhaps some species of 
locust. 

Caterpillar. See Locust. 

Flea. Heb. Par‘osh, 1 Sa 241 267°. 


3F 


802 NATURAL HISTORY 


Fly. Heb. Zébhiibh (whence Baal-zebub, ‘lord of the fly’), Eccl ro! 
Is 78. ‘Arobh, Ex 87-29 Pg 78% ro55!. 

Gnat. Gr. «ava, Mt 23%, in the proverbial expression ‘to strain 
out the gnat and swallow the camel.’ See R. V. 

Hornet. Heb. Zsir‘ah, Ex 237° Dt 77° Jos 24'. 

Horseleech. Heb. ‘Aliigah, Pr. 30% (or ‘vampire,’ R. V. marg.). 

Lice. Heb. Kinnim, Ex 8'** Ps 105*! (or ‘sand-flies,’ R. V.). 

Locust. The number of words for this destroyer of vegetation and 
crops is very expressive. Four occur in Joel 1*: Heb. Gazam, 
‘palmer-worm,’ also Am 4°; ’Arbeh (prolific), also Ex 10, &e., 
‘locust’; Yeleg, ‘canker-worm,’ also Ps 1055*; Chasil (browser), 
‘caterpillar,’ also Ps 784°. Other words are Chagabh (hopper), 
Num 13°%3 2 Ch 7}°; Gébh or Gébh (cutter), Is 33* Am 7!; Tsdlatsal 
(chirper), Dt 28*?. This last word is also used for cymbals. 

Moth. Heb. ‘Ash, Job 4!° Ps 39!! Is 518. New Testament Gr. os, 
Mt 6'9-20 Tu 1255, 

Palmer-worm. See Locust. 

Scorpion. Heb. ‘Agrabh, Gr. cxoprios, Dt 8° Lu r1* Rey 9*° (used for 
a stinging scourge, 1 Ki 12"), 

Spider. Heb. ‘Akkabhish, Job 84 Is 59°. Stmamith, Pr 30%, is rather 
a small kind of lizard. See R. V. ' 

Worm. Heb. Rimmah, Ex 16% Job 242°, Téla’, Dt 28°° Ps 22° Is 6674. 
Sas, Is 518. See Moth. Zoch#l (crawling things), Mie 7%’, Gr. 
axwant, Mk 9*® (from Is loc. cit.). 


II, Plants of Scripture 


TREES AND FLOWERS. 


Almond is the name of two trees mentioned in Scripture ; the one, 
Liz, translated ‘hazel’ (A. V.) Gen 30%, is the wild almond, and 
the other, Shaged, the cultivated almond, Num 178 Gen 43", from 
its early blossoms, a symbol of any sudden interposition, Jer 1, 
and, from their whiteness, of old age, Eccl 12°. 

Almug, or Algum (Heb.). Sandal-wood best answers the description 
in r Kiro™!2, The latter name, 2 Ch 2° and 914, is probably an 
error of transcribers. ¢ 

Aloes, properly lign-aloes, Num 24°; to be distinguished from the 
common flowering aloe. The wood is highly odoriferous: see 
Ps 45° Pr 7!7 Ct 44 Jn 19%. Heb. ’Ahalim ; Gr. ddén. 

Anise, or dill, occurs only in Mt 23” (dvnGov). It is an herb of small 
value. Its seeds are aromatic and carminative, yielding a yola- 
tile oil. 

Apple. Often thought to be the quince, which is in the East more 
highly scented, and much sweeter than in Europe; or it may be 
the apricot, as Dr. Tristram thinks: Pr 25" Joel 11* Ct 2° 9%, 
Heb. Tappiiach. 

Ash, Is 4414 (A. V.), should properly be fir-tree, as R.V. Heb. "Oren. 

Balm. Gen 372° Jer 8°, &c.,a medicinal gum, a production of Gilead, 
probably the opobalsamum Heb. Tori. 





II. PLANTS OF SCRIPTURE 803 


Barley. Ex 9%!, &., the well-known grain. Heb. Sé‘orah (the hairy 
plant). 

Bay-tree only in Ps 37°°; the Laurus nobilis, an evergreen with an 
agreeable spicy odour. But R.V. has ‘a tree in its native soil.’ 
Heb. Ezrach. 

Bean. 2Sa177° Eze 4°. Heb. Bol. 

Box-tree, the same as that of Europe, though in the East it grows wild 

: and large, Is41!°601%. Specially adapted to mountainous districts, 
and a calcareous limestone soil, like Lebanon. Heb. Téashshiir. 

Briers. The thorny plants of Palestine are very numerous, and 
Rabbinical writers say that as many as twenty-two words are 
used in Scripture to express this species. The particular plants 
indicated by these words are generally not known, but they are 
nearly all thorny and useless. 

Brier, Barganim, Judg 871°, some thorny, prickly plant, but some- 
times rendered ‘threshing instrument,’ as Rosenm. Chedéq, 
Pr 15!9 Mic 74, ‘a brier,’ a species of nightshade, Solanum spino- 
sum (Royle, Tristram). Sirpad, Is 551%. Sillon, Hz 287+. Shamir 
(often). Sarabhim, Ez 2° (the last form not identified). 

Bramble, Judg 91°, &e. Heb. ’Atdd, by some supposed to be the 
‘thorn’ with which Christ was crowned (Spina Christi), properly 
thorn, which see. Also Choach, thorn or thistle, which see. 

Bush (Heb. Séneh), Ex 3” Dt 33%. The Greek word dros means 
bramble: and the Rubus sanctus is common in Palestine. 

Weitle, Pr 248! Job 307 Zep 2°. Chariil Royle thinks wild mustard. 
It is destructive to other vegetation ; common to the East ; in 
English, charlock. The nettle is probably the plant mentioned 
in Is 34!8 Ho 9° Pr 24°! (Qimmosh), where it is so translated. 

Thistles, Gen 318, tpiBodos in LXX and New Testament, Mt 7'* Heb 68 ; 
a common prickly plant, spreading over the ground. Heb. 
Dardar. 

Thorns, a generalname. Heb. ’Atad, Ps 58°, also bramble ; see above 
Choach, also thistle, Job 412 Pr 26° Is 3418, and once in pl. hooks or 
chains, 2 Ch 3311 (R.V.). Chédeg, also brier; na‘atzitz, a thorn 
hedge, Is 55). Mestibhah, Mic 7*. Sir, Eccl 7°. Tsen, Job 5°. 
Qéts (collective, often). Qimmashin, Pr 24%. Shayith, Is 5, &e. 
dxav0a generally in the LXX; also in Mt 716 137-7? 2779 Jn 197". 

The number and variety of these words illustrate the abundance of 
plants of this class in Palestine. The common bramble and the 
holy bramble (Rubus sanctus) abound : and thistles cover large 
tracts of ground, and grow to a prodigious size ; among others, 
travellers mention the white Syrian thistle, with the Egyptian 
or purple variety, and the musk-scented thistle (Carduus mollis). 

Calamus or sweet cane, Ex 30” Ct 4!* Eze 27'° Is 434 Jer 6”. This 
plant is found in Asia and Egypt, though the most fragrant are 
said in Jer to come from a far country. It was one of the ingre- 
dients of the anointing oil of the Sanctuary. Heb. Qaneh. 

Camphire (different from camphor), probably the henna (Gr. «vmpos) 
of the East: a fragrant shrub, with flowers like those of the lilac. 
The leaves form a powder used for dyeing the nails and eyebrows, 
Ct 11 418. Heb. Kopher. 

Caper-berry (Eccl 12° R. V.), a shrub growing on walls and rocks. 


Ba) 





804 NATURAL HISTORY 


The flower-buds, preserved in vinegar, are a stimulating condi- 
ment. Heb. ‘Abhiyonah. : 
Carob-tree, a leguminous shrub found in the countries bordering the 
Mediterranean, yielding large pods with sweetish seeds, Are per 
and useful as food for cattle and swine: the ‘husks’ of Lu 15%* 

(Gr. xeparia). 

Cassia, Ex 30% Eze 27'°; an inferior kind of cinnamon. The bark 
yields an essential oil, less aromatic than cinnamon, but in larger 
quantities, and of a more pungent taste. Heb. Qiddah, Qétsi'‘oth. 

Cedar, the name generally of coniferous trees, especially of the noblest 
of the tribe, the cedar of Lebanon. The cedar of the Pentateuch 
(Lev 14*-°) was probably a juniper, which tree is common in the 
desert of Sinai. Heb. ’Lrez. 

Chestnut-tree, Gen 30°" Eze 31°, probably the plane, Platanus orientalis, 
one of the most magnificent of trees. Those of Assyria were 
especially fine, see Eze 31. Heb. ‘“Armén. 

Cinnamon, Ex 30% Pr 7'7 Ct 4! Rev 18", the bark of the Laurus kinna- 
momum. The plant is found in India and China; but the best 
kind is from Malabar and Ceylon. Heb. Qinnamén. 

Cockle, Job 31*° (R. V. ‘noisome weeds’), perhaps the darnel or ‘ tares’ 
of the parable, Mt 13%. The plural is translated ‘wild grapes,’ 
Is 5%. The fruit is narcotic and poisonous. Heb. Ba'shah. 

Coriander, an umbelliferous plant, yielding a fruit (called seed), the 
size of a pepper-corn, globular, greyish, and aromatic. It is 
common in the south of Europe, and is cultivated in Essex, Ex 16** 
Num 117. Heb. Gad. / 

Cucumber, Num 11° Is 1°; rightly translated. Extensively cultivated 
in the East. Heb. Qishshuim. 

Dove’s-dung, 2 Ki 6*°, perhaps the chick-pea, a vetech common in the 
East. The same name is still applied in Arabic to the dung of 
pigeons, and to these peas (Bochart, Taylor). Some suppose that 
the root of a wild-flower, the star of Bethlehem, is the article here 
mentioned. Heb. Dibhyonim (Qéri). 

Ebony, Eze 27!5, wood greatly prized for its colour and hardness. It 
is the heart-wood of a date-tree, which grows in great abundance 
in the East, and especially in Ceylon. Heb. Hobhnim. 

Fig-tree, properly translated: a native of the East ; with broad shady 
leaves (1 Ki 4%). The fig sprouts at the vernal equinox, and 
yields three crops of fruit, the first ripening about the end of June, 
having a fine flavour, and generally eaten green (Jer 24”), The 
others are often preserved in masses or cakes, 1 Sa 25"8, &e. Heb. 
Tééenah. Pag, green-fig, cf. 2°; Gr. cixov, cuxy, freq. in N.T. 

Fir-tree is frequently mentioned in Scripture, 2 Sa 6° Ct 117, &., and 
probably includes various coniferous trees. Some regard the 
cypress and juniper as the true representatives of berosh ; others 
the cedar, and others the common pine. All are found in 
Palestine ; and as cedarand fir constantly occur together in Serip- 
ture, they probably include the whole genus. Heb. Bérosh. 

Fitches, i.e. vetches, occurs only in Is 28°57, and is probably a species 
of Nigella (black cummin, R.V. marg.). The seeds are black, and 
are used in the East, like carraway seeds, for the purpose of 
imparting to food an aromatic, acrid taste. Heb. Qetzach, 


II. PLANTS OF SCRIPTURE 805 


Flag (translated meadow, in Gen 41748) Job 8", probably any green 
herbaceous plants of luxuriant growth. Heb. ’Achu. 

Flax (Pishtah, once translated ‘tow,’ Is 431", more properly ‘a wick’): the 
common plant so called, used to make linen, cord, and torches ; 
extensively cultivated in Egypt and Syria. Gr. Aivov, Mt 127°. 

Shésh, translated fine linen and silk, was probably the hemp plant, 
in Arabic hasheesh, yielding an intoxicating drink (whence 
assassin), now known as the bang of the East. The plant is 
cultivated in Persia, Europe, and India. 

Three other words are translated linen in the English version, Badh, 
Bits, and Sadi, the first in the Pentateuch, &c., and is probably 
the linen made from flax ; the second only in Chronicles and the 
Prophets, and is probably cotton cloth, a product not mentioned 
till after the Captivity : it is generally translated ‘fine linen’ ; 
the third only in Pr 314 Is 3%5 ‘linen raiment.’ The Bvaaos of 
the New Testament was probably linen. In she LXX, Bucoos 
represents both words, Badh and Bits; for Sadin, owdwyv is used 
(see Mt 27°° and parallels). The word cotton does not occur in 
Scripture, but the Hebrew Karpas, in Est 1°, is translated green 
(A. V.) and cotton (R. V.). The cotton plant seems not to haye 
been known in Palestine before the Captivity. 

Galbanum, Ex 30% only, a very powerful and not very fragrant gum, 
exuded by a shrub belonging to the family of Umbelliferw. It 
was used in preparing incense. Heb. Chelbénah. 

Garlick, Num 11° only. This plant is now known by the name of 
eschalot, or shalot, and is common in Europe (Allium Escaloniwm, 
i.e. of Ascalon). Herodotus states that it was supplied in large 
quantities to the labourers engaged in the erection of the Pyramids. 
Heb. Shim. 

Gopher is mentioned only in Gen 6!*. Probably a tree of the pine 
tribe, perhaps cypress, which is very abundant in Assyria. Heb. 
Gopher. 

Gourd, Jon 481°, Heb. Qigayén, is now generally admitted to be the 
Palma Christi, or castor-oil plant. It is of very rapid growth, 
with broad palmate leaves, and giving, especially when young, an 
ample shade. The oil is obtained from the seeds of the tree. 

Gourd, wild, 2 Ki 4°°. Heb, pl. Paqqu‘oth. The wild cucumber, whose 
leaves are like those of the vine, but of a poisonous quality and 
bitter taste. 

Hemlock, Ho 1o*. Heb. Rosh. Translated ‘ gall’ in Dt 29! Ps 6971 
Lam 3!, &. Probably a general name for any bitter herb (Heb. 
La‘anah, Aro 61? (R. VY.) ‘wormwood’). 

Hyssop, Ex 122?Jn 197°, &c., either marjoram, a small shrub, its leaves 
covered with soft woolly down, adapted to retain fluid; or the 
thorny caper, which grows wild in Syria, and is possessed of 
detergent properties. Heb. ’Hz6bh, Gr. voowmos. 

Juniper, 1 Ki 19° Ps 120*; probably the Spanish broom. The wood 
of this tree burns with a remarkably light flame, giving out great 
heat : hence ‘coals of juniper’ in Ps 120 (and R. V. marg. Job 30%, 
‘to warm them’). Heb. Rothem. 

Leeks, Num 11°, The word so translated is rendered ‘grass,’ 1 Ki 18° ; 
‘herb,’ Job 8!?; and ‘hay,’ Pr 27°, It properly means anything 


806 NATURAL HISTORY . 


green. But it is translated ‘leeks’ in these passages by most of 
the versions; and the plant has been known (and indeed wor- 
shipped) in Egypt from very early times. Heb. Chatsir. 

Lentiles, a kind of pulse, from a small annual, and used for making 
soups and pottage. It is of the colour of chocolate (reddish- 
brown), and is compared by Pliny to the colour of the reddish 
sand around the pyramids. Wilkinson (Ancient Egypt) has given 
a picture of lentile-pottage making, taken from an ancient slab. 
Gen 25*4 2 Sa 1778. Heb. ’Adashim. 

Lily. This word is probably applicable to several plants common in 
Palestine. In most passages of Scripture where the word is used, 
there is reference to the lotus, or water-lily of the Nile. This 
species was eaten as food : the roots, stalks, and seeds are all very 
grateful, both fresh and dried. Hence the allusion to feeding 
among lilies. The ‘lily of the valley,’ i.e. of the water-courses, 
belongs also, to this species, Ct 27° 45, &e. The flower was worn 
on festive occasions, and formed one of the ornaments of the 
Temple, 1 Ki 7°. Heb. Shiishan. 

The lily of the New Testament («pivov) is the searlet martagon lily 
(Lil. chalcedonicum), a stately turban-like flower. It flowers in April 
and May, when the Sermon on the Mount was probably delivered, 
and is indigenous throughout Galilee. It is called in the New 
Testament the ‘lily of the field,’ Mt 6%. 

Mallows, only in Job 30%, R. V. ‘salt-wort,’ Atriplex halimus; is still 
used by the poor asa common dish. Heb. Malliach. 

Mandrakes, Gen 3014-16 Ct 715, Atropa mandragora, a plant like lettuce 
in size and shape, but of dark green leaves. The fruit is of the 
size of a small apple, and ripens in wheat-harvest (May). It is 
noted for its exhilarating and genial virtues. Heb. Dudaim. 

Melon, Numir°. The gourd tribe, to which cuewmbers and melons 
belong, are great favourites in the East, and abound in Egypt and 
India. There are different kinds—the Egyptian (Cucumis chate), 
the common water-melon, &c., all of which are probably included 
in the Scripture name. Heb. ’Abhattichim. 

Millet, Eze 4°, the Panicum miliaceum of botanists, a small grain some- 
times cultivated in England for feeding poultry, and grown 
throughout the East. It is used for food in Persia and in India. 
Heb. Dochan. - 

Mulberry, in the New Testament, sycamine-tree, Lu 17° (very different 
from the sycomore, which is a kind of fig), is the mulberry of 
Europe, very common in Palestine. The word translated ‘ mul- 
berry’ in 2 Sa 57°-*4 1 Ch 141415 probably means balsam-tree. The 
rustling of its leaves answers the description given in these 
passages. The same word occurs in Ps 84°, and is there regarded 
(A. V.) as a proper name (Baca), but most of the versions (as R. V.) 
translate it ‘weeping.’ Valley of Baca=‘ vale of tears.’ 

Mustard (civam), is either a species of the plant known in England 
under this name, which has one of the smallest seeds, and is itself 
among the tallest of herbaceous plants, or the Salvadora Persica, 
a shrub or tree, whose seeds are used for the same purpose as 
mustard (Royle, Irby). 

Myrrh is the representative of two words in Hebrew, of which the 





II. PLANTS OF SCRIPTURE 807 


first (Mor, cpvpva) is properly translated, Ex 30%° Ps 458 &¢ Jn 
19. It is a gum exuded by the Balsamodendron myrrha, and 
other plants. It is highly aromatic and medicinal, and moderately 
stimulating. The Greeks used it to drug their wine. The shrub 
is found in Arabia and Africa. 

Bédolach, Gen 2}* Num 11’, is probably a gum, still known as bdellium. 
The gum exudes from more than one tree, and is found in both 
India and Africa. 

Létis properly labdanum. It is a gum exuded by the cistus, and is 
now used chiefly in fumigation, Gen 377° 434%. Other similar 
gums mentioned in Scripture are— 

Balm (Tsirt), Gen 37° Jer 87°. It is probably the balm or balsam of 
Gilead (the Hebrew of which word, however, Bésem, is generally 
translated spice, or sweet odours). This treeis common in Arabia 
and Africa. The gum is obtained in small quantities, and is 
highly aromatic and medicinal. 

Frankincense (Lébhonah), is a gum taken from a species of storax, and 
is highly fragrant. It was employed chiefly for fumigation, and 
was largely used in the service ofthe Temple. It was regarded 
as an emblem of prayer, Ley 2! Ps 145)? Rey 8-4. 

Spicery (Nékh’oth), Gen 37° 4311, is a kind of gum, perhaps taken from 
the tragacanth tree. 

Stacte (Nataph), occurs only in Ex 30%, and is another gum, not now 
certainly known. Celsius thinks it an inferior kind of myrrh. 

Myrtle grows wild in Palestine, and reaches the height of twenty feet. 
Tts leaves are dark and glossy, and its white flowers highly aro- 
matic. Its branches were used at the Feast of Tabernacles, Ne 8*4 
Is 417°, Heb. Hédhas. 

Nard, Mk 145. Heb. Nad, Gk. vapios, translated spikenard, the Indian 
plant Nardostachys jatamansi, yielding a delicious and costly per- 
fume. The root and the leaves that grow out of it have the 
appearance of spikes, hence the name (sfachys=spike). Ct 11? 4% 
Mk 148 Jn 12°. 

Nut is the translation of two Hebrew words: Boinim, Gen 43"'. pistachio- 
nuts, well known in Syria and India, but not in Egypt, and 
?Eghoz, the walnut-tree, Ct 6", which is called in Pers. and Arab. 
*gouz.’ 

Oak, Gen 35° Is 218 6!5 443* Eze 27 Ho 438 Am 2° Zee 11. In other 
passages where the word ‘oak’ is found, the word ought to be 
terebinih, or turpentine-tree (see til). The oak is not common in 
Palestine, nor is the English oak (Quercus robur) found there. Oaks 
of Bashan are still of large size ; but they are chiefly either the 
evergreen oak (@Q. ilex), the prickly-cupped oak (Q. valonia), or the 
Kermes oak. Heb. ’ Allon. 

Olive, an evergreen, common from Italy to Cabul. The unripe fruit 
is preserved in a solution of salt, and is used for dessert; when 
ripe, it is bruised in mills, and yields an oil of peculiar purity and 
value. Both the oil and the tree were used in the Feast of 
Tabernacles. In Judea it was a symbol of prosperity, Ps 52%, 
and in all ages it has been an emblem of peace. 

The wild olive (Ro 11-24) was probably a wild species of the Olea 

Europea. It was a common mode of grafting in Italy, to insert 


808 NATURAL HISTORY 


a branch of the wild olive on the stock of the cultivated plant 
(Columella). Heb. Zayith, Gr. édAaia, 

Onion, a plant well known in this country and in the East. In hot 
climates it loses its acrid taste, and is highly agreeable and 
nutritious, Num 11°, Heb. Bézel. 

Palm, or date-tree, is one of the most valuable eastern trees, Ex 15%". 
It flourished especially in the valley of Jordan (hence Jericho, the 
City of Palm-trees) and in the deserts of Syria (Yamar = Palmyra). 
It was considered characteristic of Judwa, being first met with 
there by nations travelling southward from Europe. Heb. Tamar, 
Gr. poivg, whence Pheenicia. 

Pomegranate (‘grained-apple’), a tree of great value in hot climates. 
Its fruit is globular, and as large as a good-sized apple. The 
interior contains a quantity of purple or rosy seeds, with a sweet 
juice, of a slightly acid taste, 1Sa1q4*. The tree is not unlike the 
common hawthorn, but larger. It is cultivated in North Africa 
and throughout Asia. Hag 2!° Dt 8° Ct 8? Joel 1%. Heb. Rimmon. 

Carved pomegranates were placed on the capitals of the columns of 
the Temple, Ex 28°, 

Poplar, Ho 4", is either the white poplar or the storax-tree, Gen 30°, 
LXX, and R.V. marg. The latter yields the fragrant resin of 
frankincense. Either tree answers the description given in 
Genesis and Hosea. Heb. Libhneh. 

Reed, a tall, grassy plant, consisting of a long, hollow-jointed stem, 
with sharp-cutting leaves. The plant grows on the banks of rivers 
and in moist places, 1 Ki 141° Job 40%! Is 19®7 36° Ez 40° Mt 11’. 
and was used for measuring, fishing, walking, &. 

A small kind was used for writing, 3 Jn 13. This reed is very 
abundant in the marshes between the Tigris and the Euphrates. 
Heb. Qaneh, Gk. kadapos. 

Rose, Ct 2! Is 354. Though the rose was known in Syria, the dog- 
rose being common on the mountains, and the damask rose taking 
its name from Damascus, it is not mentioned in Scripture ; the 
word so translated being (as its name implies) a bulbous-rooted 
plant. It is probably the sweet narcissus, abundant in the plain 
of Sharon, in fact the characteristic wild flower of the district. 
Heb. Chévatzéleth. 

Rue, only in Lu 11%, is the common garden-plant socalled. Its leaves 
emit a strong and bitter odour, and were formerly used medicinally. 
Gr. myyavor. 

Rush, Ex 2° Is 9" 19", translated also ‘ hook,’ Job 412 (‘ rope of rushes,” 
R. V. marg.), and ‘bulrush,’ Is 58° (A. V.), the Egyptian papyrus, 
Is 18° (R. V.), which belongs to the tribe, not of rushes, but of 
sedges. It grows eight or ten feet high. The stem is triangular, 
and without leaves, but is adorned with a large, floceulent, bushy 
top. The plant was used for making boats, sails, mats, and ropes; 
the stem itself yielding the celebrated paper of Egypt. The plant 
is found in all parts of the Nile, near Babylon, and in India. 
Heb. Gomé, Agmén. 

Saffron, Ct 44. The stigmas and style of the yellow crocus formed 
this fragrant perfume, which was used to flavour both meat and 
wine, and asa powerful stimulative medicine. Itis very common 


II. PLANTS OF SCRIPTURE 809 


throughout Asia, and derives its English name from the Arabic 
‘zafran. Heb. Karkom. 

Shittah-tree, the acacia, or Egyptian thorn, Ex 25°, &c. The stem is 
straight and thorny, the bark is a greyish-black, the wood very 
light and durable, and therefore well adapted for a movable 
structure like the Tabernacle. All this species bear flowers, and 
are remarkable for their fragrance and beauty. Heb. plur. Shkitim. 

Sycomore, 1 Ki 107’ Ps 7847, &., erroneously translated by the LXX 
cukajuvos (see Mulberry). In its leaves it resembles the mulberry, 
but is really a fig-tree, bearing a coarse, inferior fruit (Ficus 
sycomorus). It is lofty and shady (Lu 19%), with wood of no great 
value (r Ki 1027 2 Ch 1°). The mummy-cases of Egypt were 
generally made of it. Heb. Shigmah. This tree must be distin- 
guished from the English sycamore, which is a kind of maple. 

Tares ((i(avia), Mt 13°, the Loliwm temulentum, a kind of darnel, or 
grass, resembling wheat until the seeds appear. It impoverishes 
the soil, and bears a seed of deleterious properties. 

Teil-tree, Is 6'3, an old English name for the ‘lime-tree,’ which is not 
found in Palestine. The R.V. rightly has ‘terebinth’ in the 
above passage. Sohas R. V. for A. V. ‘elm’in Ho 4”, and for ‘oak’ 
in Gen 35 marg. and in other passages. See Oak. It is also 
known as the turpentine-tree, from the fragrant substance exud- 
ing from its bark. Heb. Zlah. 

Thyine-wood, Rev 1812, was in great demand among the Romans, who 
ealled it thya, or citron-wood. It grows only in the neighbour- 
hood of Mount Atlas, in Africa, and yields the ‘sandarach’ rosin 
of commerce. It is highly balsamic and odoriferous. Gr. Ovvov. 

Vine, Gen 9”, &c., a well-known tree, and highly esteemed through- 
out the East. The vine of Eshcol was especially celebrated, 
Num 13%24, The vine was grown on terraces on the hills of 
Palestine, Is 51 Mic 1°, or elsewhere on the ground, Eze cae 
Sometimes it formed an arbour, 1 Ki 4° Ho 2", propped up and 
trained. Often metaphorically used, asin Jn 15. A noble vine 
= men of generous disposition, Jer 27, A strange, or wild vine 
=men ignoble and degenerate, Dt 32°, &e. Heb. Géphen (also 
Soréq, yielding rich red or purple grapes, Is 5? Jer 2* Gen 4g", 
also denoting the valley that produced them, Judg 16+), Gr. 
aptedos. 

Willow, Ps 137” Is 444, was well known in Judea, and one species, the 
weeping willow, is the Sulix Babylonica. Heb. ‘Erebh. Tsaphisaphah, 
Ez 17°, is probably the Egyptian willow (Salim Zgyptiaca). 

Wormwood, ‘root of bitterness,’ Dt 2917 Rev 81011, an emblem of 
trouble. There are various species of this tribe (Artemisia), of 
which the English plant (A. absinthium) is a specimen. Several 
kinds are found in Judea, all exceedingly bitter. The wormwood 
of commerce consists of the tops of the plants, flowers, and young 
seeds intermixed. Heb. La‘dnah, Gr. apivé.or. 


810 NATURAL HISTORY 


III, Minerals of Scripture 


1. EARTHS AND OTHER MINERAL SUBSTANCES. 


Bitumen, or asphalt, translated slime, is an earth-resin, abounding in 
the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea and elsewhere. It was used 
as cement, Gen 11°, as it still is in some parts of the East. Pliny 
states that the Egyptians used it for making the papyrus boats of 
the Nile water-tight (see Ex 2°). Heb. Chémar, Gr. dopaAros. 

Brimstone, or sulphur, a mineral found in a natural state; also 
obtained by art from pyrites and various rock formations. It is 
found in Palestine in both states, Gen 19%-*° Ps 11° Eze 38"? Is go** 
34° Rev 14". Heb. Gophrith, Gr. Oetov. 

Clay, an unctuous earth, used in making earthenware, Is 29! 45° 
Jer 18°, and, when mixed with sand, for building, Job 41%. Heb. 
Chomer, Tit (mire), Mélet (mortar). 

Earth has three representatives in Hebrew: ’Erets=the earth, habitable 
and uninhabited ; "Adamah, properly, red earth, cultivable land, 
and sometimes the whole earth ; “Aphar, dry earth, or dust. There 
are also words for very fine dust (Dt 28% Nah 1°), and a dust- 
particle, or atom (Is 40"). Clods of earth have three names, 
Job 7° 31°° Joel 117, 

Nitre (or carbonate of soda), Néther, a mineral alkali (as Borith, translated 
soap, is a vegetable alkali), found in a natural state in Egypt, 
Jer 2” (R. V. ‘lye’) and Pr 25° only.. Vinegar (any acid) makes 
it emit a disagreeable odour, and destroys its qualities; hence 
the last passage. 

Salt abounds in Palestine. The Dead Sea is strongly impregnated 
with it. The Salt-valley of 2Sa 8% 1 Ch 18” Ps 60, is a large 
plain south-west of the Dead Sea. The salt-pits of Zep 2° were 
probably such as are still dug in the borders of the Dead Sea, 
into which the water runs, and where a thick crust of salt is soon 
deposited. Often figuratively used, as ‘a covenant of salt,’ 2 Ch 13° 
Ps 107° (because nothing can grow in a soil coyered with salt, 
Jer 178 Judg o*°) Col 4° (apposite, pure discourse) Mt 51° Mk 9°°. 
Heb. Melach, Gr. Gas. 

Sand abounds in Palestine, and is often used as a comparison, to 
express abundance, extensiveness, weight, &c. Heb. Chél, Gr. 
dpupos, 


2. STONES AND ROCKS. 


Alabaster (from the Arabic, the whitish stone) of the moderns, is 
a variety of gypsum : among the ancients, the word was applied 
to a kind of onyx, a hard stalagmitie deposit from water impreg- 
nated with carbonate of lime, Mt 26’ Mk 14° Lu 757, It was much 
used for perfumery-boxes (Pliny), as it still is in Egypt. Gr. 
ddaBaortpor. 

Chalk-stone, Is 27°, lime-stone, the chief material of the hills of 
Syria and Palestine. It is hard and whitish ; sometimes yellow 
or grey. Heb. Gir, 





III. MINERALS OF SCRIPTURE 811 


Crystal, Eze 1°, literally ice (Heb.), Job 28!” (Zékhiikhith), a trans- 
parent, glass-like stone, of the flint family. Qerach, Gabhish, Job 2818 
(R. V.), Gr. eptoraddos, Rev 4° 22). 

Flint, Dt 8! 3215 Ps 1148 Is 507 Job 28°. The rocks of Sinai, to which 
in Dt 8 the word is applied, are granite, porphyry, and green- 
stone, and such rocks are no doubt intended. Heb. Chailamish, 
and in Eze 3° tswr (rock). 

Lime, Is 33!2 Am 2!. Heb. Sid, translated plaster, Dt 277-4. 

Marble is limestone of a close texture. The name in Hebrew means 
‘whiteness’ (generally applied to linen), 1 Ch 29? Est 18 Ct 515, 
Heb. Shésh. 

Rock. High precipitous rocks, fit for refuge, are called Selu’, Judg 15%" 
t Sa 144 Ps 18°, &e. Tstr is the generic name, also very frequent. 
Gr. wérpa, Mt 7742 Mk 1546 x Cor 1o4, &e. 

Stone (Heb. ’Ebhen), isgeneric. (‘Gravel ’ is Chdtsdis, from a root signi- 
fying ‘to break up.’) Gr. Ai@os, mérpos Jn 14%. 


3. PRECIOUS STONES. 


Agate, a semi-transparent, variegated mineral, crystalline in struc- 
ture, so called from the river Achates in Sicily (Pliny), Ex 281° 39””. 
Heb. Shcthi. The word in Is 54!2 Ez 27! is Kadkod. A similar 
Arabic word means vivid redness, and the stone here meant is 
probably the oriental ruby ; so R. V. 

Amethyst, a kind of blue, transparent quartz, sometimes purple or 
greyish. Heb. ’Achlamah, from a word signifying dream; Gr. 
apebvoTtos, from a word for drunkenness. (The Hebrews supposed 
the amethyst to have the power of procuring dreams, the Greeks 
of preventing intoxication.) Ex 281° 39!. 

Beryl. Heb. Tarshish, Gr. Bypvddos. Tarshish stone, or chrysolith, 
properly a gem of yellow gold lustre, sometimes verging to yellow 
green, Ex 287° 391° Ct 514 Eze 11° & Rey 217°, See Onyx. 

Carbuncle (Heb. Baregath or Barégeth, flashing as lightning) ; the word 
so translated is rather the oriental emerald (cpdapaydos), a beauti- 
ful green, of different shades, Ex 28!" Eze 2815, so LXX Jos. 

In Is 54% the literal meaning is ‘sparkling stone.’ ‘Carbuncle’ 
is derived, etymologically, from carbo, a glowing coal. See 
Emerald. 

Biamond (1) Heb. Yakhdlom. A hard gem (literally ‘ hammered’). 
Possibly the onyx, a kind of chalcedony, of various tints. When 
red, called sardonyx (see Sardius) ; reddish grey, chalcedonyx ; 
tawny, memphitonyx. The onyx was semi-transparent (like the 
human nail, hence its name), and was much used for cameos and 
seals, Ex 2818 Eze 28%. 

(2) Heb. Shamir, Jer 17} (also Eze 3° Zec 7, translated adamant), and 
probably means emery, an aluminous mineral, very hard, used for 
polishing glass. 

The diamond was unknown to the Jews. 

Emerald, or rather the carbuncle, under which name several brilliant 
red stones were included, especially the ruby, garnet, &e., Ex 28'* 
ize 28185, Heb. Nophckhs 


812 NATURAL HISTORY 


Jasper, an opaque gem, of various tints, green, red, and yellow, 
Ex 28*° Eze 288 Rev 4° 21-819, Heb, Yashépheh, Gr. taoms. : 

Ligure (A. V. Ex 28° 39, a word no longer used), R.V. hyacinth or 
jacinth, a transparent gem, orange-yellow-red, found in Ceylon and 
India, Rev 217° 9", Heb. Léshem, Gr. bamv6os. 

Onyx, probably the beryl or chrysoprase, Gen 2"? Rey 21° (i.e. a leek- 
green stone), generally transparent, and of a pale green colour, 
Ex 25’ Eze 28%. Heb. Shoham. - 

Sapphire, a transparent gem, generally sky-blue, and very hard; 
hence the floor of the throne of God in heaven is compared to it, 
Ex 24)° Eze 17° Rey 21% Heb. Sappir. The sapphire of the Greeks 
(campecpos) was our lapis lazwli; the same colour as the Scripture 
sapphire, but much softer. 

Sardius (Heb. ‘Odem, red stone), properly carnelian (@ carne), a flesh- 
coloured gem, of the chalcedony family. It was found largely at 
Sardis, in Lydia, Ex 2817 Eze 28% Rey 4° 212°, 

Topaz, a yellow gem, with red, grey, or green tinge, found in South 
Arabia. Hence the topaz of Cush ; an island in the Red Sea being 
called Topaz island (Pliny). Job 28! Ex 28" Eze 28! Rev 217°. 
Heb. Pitdah. = 

The descriptions in Revelation, it will be noticed, are closely con- 
nected with those in Exodus and in Ezekiel. 


4. METALS. 


Amber, Eze 1*?7 87, properly, a metal composed of copper and gold. 
Heb. Chashmal. Electron, which is used by the LXX to translate 
it, meant also amber. The corresponding Greek word (xaA«oAi- 
Bavov) is found in Rey 1™, ‘ burnished brass.’ . 

Antimony, or stibium, does not directly occur in the Bible; but its 
use is implied in the words translated paint (viz. the eyes), literally, 
with antimony, 2 Ki 9°° Jer 4°° Eze 23*°. The verb is kachal, to 
colour with al-kohol, a fine black powder made from the metal. 
See Is 54! (R. V. marg.). 


Brass. This compound metal—copper and zine—was unknown in ~ 


Scripture times. Where we read brass, we are generally to under- 
stand either copper or a mixture of copper and tin (nine parts of 
the former to one of the latter), i.e. bronze. The word ‘brazen’ 
is used in the same sense. This mixed metal was susceptible of 
a high polish, and was used for mirrors, Ex 38° Job 37" Is 3%, 
where looking-glasses is out of place: see R. V. ‘Steel’ (Jos 20% 
2 Sa 22° Ps 184 Jer 15!*) should be ‘brass,’ as R. V., with the 
same meaning. Heb. Néchosheth, Gr. xadkés. 

Gold (Heb. Stgor, Kéthem, what is concealed, treasure ; Charats, what is 
lustrous; Paz, pure gold; and Zahabh, gold itself, its mineral name), 
Gr. xpvaéds. In Job 22% ‘gold’ (A, V.), ‘treasure’ R. V., Beétzer, is 
literally ore, ‘something broken off.’ The Jews obtained their 
gold chiefly from Sheba and Ophir, both in Arabia, 1 Ki 97° Ps 45°. 
At present, no gold is found there, but ancient writers affirm that 
it was formerly found in considerable quantities. ‘ Uphaz,’ pro- 
bably = Ophir, Dn 10°, and ‘Parvaim,’ 2 Ch 3°, may mean 
‘eastern regions’ (Ges,), Beaten, or perhaps alloyed (Ges.) gold 


III. MINERALS OF SCRIPTURE 813 


is mentioned, 1 Ki 1o!*17, Gold and silver were sometimes 
purified by fire, Pr 17°, lead, antimony, salt, tin, and bran being 
used in the process. Golden ornaments were early used; and 
beaten gold was used for overlaying parts of the Temple structure, 
furniture, and decorations. The first mention of gold money is 
in David’s age, 1 Ch 2175, weight, not coinage : see § 213. 

Iron was largely found in Syria, even in the earliest times, Dt 8°. 
Instruments and tools were made of it, Num 351° Dt 275. Steel is 
called in Jer 15!” ‘northern iron.’ The tribe celebrated in ancient 
times for making it were called Chalybes, and resided near the 
Black Sea. Another name for steel (Példadah, from the Arabic) is 
translated ‘torches,’ Nah 2*, more probably iron scythes. Heb. 
Barzel. 

Lead is first mentioned Ex 15!°, Before quicksilver was known it 
was used to purify silver. Hence several expressions, Jer 6° 
Eze 22% Heb. ‘Ophéreth. In Am 7’ aweight of lead, or plummet, 
is mentioned. The word is the Arabic for lead (Heb. ’Anakh). 

Silver, Heb. Késeph, literally, as in Greek (dpyvpiov), white metal, is 

found native, and combined with sulphur andacids. It often lies 

in veins, Job 281, and was purified by lead and heat (see Lead). 

Lead and silver combined is called silver dross; the separated 

silver, purified silver, Pst2°. It was brought (among other places) 

from Spain, Eze 27!2 Jer 10°. In very early times we find it in 

use, Gen 23-16, Many utensils were made of it, Gen 44” Ex 125 

Num 7° to”. The earliest mention of it as money is in Gen 201, 

weight, not coinage, § 213: see also Gen 2318 Jer 32°. 

Tin is first mentioned Num 3172. Later, the Tyrians imported it from 
Tarshish, Eze 271”: a levelling instrument of tin is mentioned, 
Zee 4°. This word is also used for the refuse of lead and silver 
(see Lead) in Is 1%. Heb. Bédil. 





ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


The Heads of Sections and the Titles of Scripture Books are given in the List of 
Contents at the beginning. 


A.D., basis of chronological 
reckoning, 329. 

Aaron and his descendants, 425. 

Abel’s offering, 407. 

Abishag, 593. 

Abraham, call of, 298, 408. 

Absalom, rebellion of, 
Psalms referring to, 454. 

Acrostics, Hebrew, 562. 

Acts, Chronology of the, 677. 

Adoption, 355. 

Ahasuerus (Xerxes), 546. 

Ahmes, the Egyptian king who 
expelled the Hyksos, qrt. 

Alexander the Great and the 
Jews, 599. 

Alexander, Abp., on the Im- 
precatory Psalms, 571. 

‘Alexandrian’ type of New 
Testament text, 78. 

Alford, Dean H. A., Editor of 
the Greek Testament, 63. 

Allegorical use of the Song of 
Songs, 595. 

Allegory, defined, 220; illus- 
trated, 223; interpretation of, 
224. 

Alogi, the, 658. 

Alterations by copyists, 72. 

*‘Ammonian Sections,’ 47. 

Ammonites, war of David with 
the, 115, 451. 

Amos, his recognition of the 
books of Moses, 487. 

Analogy, a key to the meaning 
of words, 189. 


4523 


Ancient Books, transmission of 
to modern times, 24. 

*‘ Angels of the Churches,’ the, 
760 n. 

Animated Nature, facts of, 
illustrating Scripture, 333. 

Antigonus, the Maceabzan, 507. 

Antilegomena, the, 39. 

Antiochus III (the Great), 6or. 

Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), 602; 
his cruel persecutions, 603. 

Antipater, the Idumzan, 606. 

Apocalypse, language of the, 
758; parallels with John’s 
Gospel, 769. 

Apocalyptic writings, Jewish, 
760. 

Apocrypha (Old Testament), 
the, 10; books of, 612; alleged 
quotations from the, in New 
Testament, 2r. 

Apollos, suggested by Luther as 
author of ‘ Hebrews,’ 733. 

Apostles, the, their Divine 
mission, 86, 87. 

Apostolic books, early recogni- 
tion of, 39. 

Aquila, his Greek Version of 
Old Testament, 31. 

Arabah, the, 289. 

Arabic language, the, 14; Ver- 
sions of the Scriptures, 35 ; 
local names, glossary of, 297. 

Aram, different regions sonamed, 
278. 

Aramaic dialect, 13 ; expressions 


816 


in New Testament, 206, 44; in 
Old Testament, 462; becomes 
prevalent, 612; Gospel of 
Matthew, presumed original, 
645. 

Araunah or Ornan, 452. 

Archaisms in the Hebrew 
Pentateuch, 391 ; inthe English 
Bible (with Table), 167-170. 

Archelaus, 610. 

Aristobulus, first Maccabzean 
priest-king, 606. 

Ark, removal of, to Zion, 451. 

Armenian Version of the Old 
Testament, 34; of the New 
Testament, 54. 

Arnold, Dr. T., of Rugby, on 
Ethical Progress, 134; on the 
larger sense of Prophecy, 238. 

Artaxerxes Longimanus, 540, 


541. 

Article, Greek, usage of the, 
210-215. 

Articles of the English Church 
(VE); 20,516. 

Asa, king, 471. 

Asia Minor, 279; Proconsular, 
710, 760. 

*‘ Asnapper,’ or Asshur-bani-pal, 
of Assyria, 314. 

Ass, the, in the East, 334. 

Assyria, kings of, mentioned in 
Old Testament, 307; and Israel, 


469. 

Astruc, Jean, on the Divine 
Names in the Pentateuch, 396. 

Atonement, how expressed, 202; 
how taught, 219. 

Atonement, Day of, 428, 433. 

Augustine, on Old and New 
Testaments, 226. 

Authority of Revelation, 144; 
of the Scriptures, asserted, 85. 
Authorized Version of the 

Bible, the English, 157. 
* Azazel,’ 428. 


Baal-gad or Baalbek, 277. 

Babel, 408. 

Babylon, the first Empire, 299 ; 
the second, 314; captivity of 
the Jewsin, 528; number of the 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


exiles, 529 ; empire overthrown 
by Cyrus, 538. 

Babylon, mystic, the, 742, 767. 
Bacon on the ‘ germinant accom- 
plishment of prophecy,’ 765. 
Barnabas, suggested author of 

* Hebrews,’ 733. 

Bashan, 290. 

‘Beast,’ Number of the, 763. 

Beer-sheba, 286. 

Belshazzar, 265, 316, 533. 

Bengel, J. A., Critical Edition 
of New Testament, 60. 

Berachah, Valley of, victory in 
the, 473- 

Bethlehem, 286. 

‘Bible,’ meaning and origin of 
the word, 4. 

Bible, The, reasons for studying 
it, 3; spirit in which it should 
be studied, 3, 178; the absolute 
and final authority on religion, 
131; the most translatable of 
books, 147; difficulties in, a59, 
269. 

Bickersteth, Rev. E., classifica- 
tion of the Psalms by, 579. 

Binnie, Prof,,on Hebrew Poetry, 
562. 

Bishops’ Bible, the, 156. 

Blood, various meanings of, 187. 

Books, extra -biblical, quoted, 
461, 750. 

Botany of Scripture, 332. 

Burgon, Dean (and Prebendary 
Miller), plea for the Traditional 
Text, 63; on Inspiration, 119, 
123; on the last twelve verses 
of Mark, 642. 

Burnt-offerings, 428. 

Butler, Bishop, on moral and 
positive laws, 367; on Micah 
6°, 508. 

Byron, Lord, quoted, 538. 


Cesar, Julius, and the Jews, 607. 
Cain in the land of Nod, 407. 
Calendar, the Jewish, 352, 353. 
Calf, the Golden, worship of, 


414. 
Campbell, Thomas, on Hebrew 
Poetry, 561. 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


«Canaan,’ meaning of the name, 
279 ; Successive inhabitants of, 
291; the home of Israel, 440. 

Canaanites, Destruction of the, 
439. 

Candour of Scripture, 103. 

Canon of Scripture, how deter- 
mined, 16; its gradual growth, 
17, 37; subsequent to the exist- 
ence of sacred literature, 18; 
its formation attributed to Ezra, 
542. 

Canonical and uncanonical 
books contrasted, 37. 

Canonicity, New Testament, 
tested by apostolicity, 36. 

Canons of Criticism, 77; im- 
plicit, gor. 

Canticles: see Song of Songs. 

Captivity, of Israel, the first, 
469; of Judah, Babylonian list 
of kings during, 528; duration 
of, how reckoned, 529. 

Carchemish, battle at (Babylon 
victorious over Egypt), 302, 474, 


5209. 

Carlyle, Thomas, on Job, 562. 

Carpenter, Bishop Boyd, In- 
terpretation of the Apocalypse, 
764. 

Catalogues, early, of New Testa- 
ment Books, 40. 

‘Catholic Epistles,’ the Seven, 
737- 

Cave, Prof., on the supernatural 
origin of the Law, 4or. 

Census, the, under Cyrenius, 
266. 

‘Chaldee’ of the Old Testament 
an ree designation of 
language, 14 

Chapter and Verse division, 
174. 

Character above System, 143. 

Charteris, Prof., ‘Canonicity,’ 
40, 635, 683. 

Chase, Dr. F. K., Hulsean 
Lectures on the Acts, 671; on 
Peter’s connexion with Rome, 
742. 

Children instructed in mechani- 
cal arts, 355. 


817 


*Chokhmah,’ the, 582. 

Christ, mission of, asserted to 
be Divine, 85; character of, as 
showing the Divine origin of 
Scripture, 104. 

Christendom, apostasy in, 768. 

Christianity a revealed re- 
ligion, 127. 

Christians, character of, as an 
evidence of Scripture truth, 106. 


Chronicles, compared with 
Kings, 458, 461; genealogies 
in, 462. 


Chronological arrangement of 
Scripture important, 135. 
Chronology, Antediluvian, 320; 
after Israel’s settlement in 
Canaan (different computa- 
tions), 324; before Abraham 
(different computations), 322; 
Captivity to the Advent, 327; 
of the Judges, 443; the kingly 
history, Israel and Judah, 326; 
peculiarities of reckoning, 327 ; 
Israel in Egypt (two different 
reckonings), 324; lessons from, 
330; New Testament, 329; Us- 
sher’s, 173; Tables of, 772-797.- 
Church, how far an authority 
onthe Canon, 36; the Christian, 
described in’ the language of 
the old economy, 243, 743. 
ae and Towns in the East, 


Caaox, the term explained, 45 The 

Coele-Syria, 277. 

Cognate languages, use of, in 
interpreting Scripture words, 
204. 

Colosse, city of, 713. 

‘Common Dialect’ 
the, 43. 

Comparison of Scripture with 
Scripture, 195. 

Complutensian Polyglot, the, 


(Greek), 


31. 

Conjectural criticism,  sus- 
picious, 400; readings, how far 
admissible, 81. 

Conscience, testimony of, to 
Scripture, IIo. 

Consistency in doctrine, 360. 


818 


Constantine, Emperor, orders 
the preparation of New Testa- 
ment MSS., 46. 


Contextual interpretation, 
187, 188. 
Contradictions, apparent, in 


Bible-statements and precepts, 
266. 

Conybeare and Howson on the 
authenticity of the Pastoral 
Epistles, 721. 

Coptic Version of the Old Testa- 
ment, 34; of the New Testa- 
ment, 54. 

Copyists of the Old Testament, 
their general fidelity, 25, 27. 
Copyists’ mistakes, sources of, 
68; intentional alterations, 72 

seg. ; accidental, 75, 76. 

Corban, 430. 

Corinth, the city, 
church in, 692. 

Cornill, Prof., on the consolida- 
tion of Judaism in Babylonia, 
532. 

Covenant, the national, renewed 
by Ezra, 544. 

Covenants, Divine, successive, 
408. 

Coverdale, Miles, translator of 
the Bible, 155. 

Creation, two accounts of, in 
Genesis, 406. 

Crete, character of the people, 
726 ; Gospel in, 725. 

Criticism, Biblical, twofold, 66. 

Crucifixion, 357. 

*Curetonian Syriac’ of New 
Testament, 53. 

Cursive MSS., 46; their cha- 
racteristies, 51 

Cyrenius: see Quirinius, 
Census. 

Cyrus the Great, in sacred and 
secular history, 538; his own 
account of the conquest of 
Babylon, 317; acknowledges the 
sovereignty of Jehovah, 539. 


691; the 


and 


Damascus, 278. 
Daniel, in Babylon, 316; his 
personal history, 532; Apoca- | 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


lyptic visions of, 534; parallels 
with New Testament, 537. 

Darius Codomannus, 545- 

‘Darius the Mede,’ 265, 316. 

Darius Hystaspis, 540. 

David, the reign of, 450, 464; 
his kingdom in prophecy, 239 ; 
his sin and penitence, 451; his 
family troubles, 452; last words 
of, 452; as Prophet, 455. 

Davidic line, the, 471. e 

Davidson, Dr, A. B., on the 
question of 2 Isaiah, 502; on 
the Book of Job, 565, 566. 

Davidson, Dr. §., on the unity 
of Acts, 669; on Apocalyptic 
interpretation, 762. 

‘Dead Sea,’ the (not a Scripture 
name), 289. 

Dedication, Feast of, 432, 604. 

Deductions from _ Seripture, 
authority of, 362. 

Delitazsch, Franz, quoted, 569, 
578, 589, &e. 

Deluge, the, interwoven accounts 
of, 407. 

De Quincey, T., theory respect- 
ing the Essenes, 618, 

* Deutero-canonical’ Books, 39. 

Deuteronomy, may have been 
reduced to writing in 
393; discovered in the Temple 
by Hilkiah, 24, 392; evidences 
of its early origin, 393; speci- 
ally quoted by Christ, ib. ; 
variations in from the earlier 
books, 420; references to in 
New Testament, ib. 

Deutsch, Emmanuel, on the 
Talmud, 621. 

Development, gradual, of truth 
in Scripture, 383. 

De Wette, on the Pilgrim Psalms, 
575; his German Bible, 150. 
Dialogues, covert, in Scripture, 

192. 
Diatessaron, Tatian’s, of the 
Gospels, 53- 


' Diathéké (‘Testament’), double 


meaning of, 6. 
Difficult and easy readings, 
which to be preferred, 80. 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Difficulties in Bible allusions, 
262; an aid to Faith, 271; 
not all to be removed, 275; in 
chronology and history, 262; 
in Inspiration-theories, 122; in 
the Revelation, 268; (some are 
only in interpretation, ib.) ; 
doctrinal, considered, 272; to 
be expected in Scripture, 259; 
how to meet them, 270. 

Dillmann, ‘ The Book of Enoch,’ 
750- 

Discrepancies, apparent, in 
Scripture, 262 ; illustrated, with 
explanations, 263-265. 

Disputed passages bearing on 
our Lord’s Deity, 83. 

Diversity with Unity in Scrip- 
ture, 138. 

Divine and human elements 
in Scripture, 12r. 

Divine Names in the Penta- 
teuch, 396, 398. 

Doctrinal Truth, how to be as- 
certained, 359. 

Doctrine at the root of morality, 
365. 

Documents employed in the 
composition of the Pentateuch, 


394- 
Douay Bible, the, 156. 
‘Double sense’ or iwofold 
application of Prophecy, 237, 


257. 

Doubts of Christians, their source 
and cure, I14. 

Douglas, Principal G. E. M., 
on the Unity of Isaiah, 503. 

Dress of the Jews, 338 ; Scripture 
illustrations from, 339. 

Drink-offerings, 430. 

Driver, Prof.S. R., quoted, 299, 
503, &e. 

Drummond, Prof. James, on 
the authorship of the Fourth 
Gospel, 658, 663. 

Dutch translation of the Bible, 
I5I. 


Hadie, Dr. J., on the English 
Bible, 153. 
Ebionites, Jewish, 320. 


819 


Ecclesiastes, Book of, and Solo- 
mon, 590. 

Eeclesiasticus (‘ Wisdom of the 
Son of Sirach’), Book of, 21, 
613; Hebrew fragment of, 613. 

Egypt and Babylon, 302: see 
Carchemish. 

Egypt, connexions of, with 
Israel, 301 ; invasions of Judah 
by, 472 ; Dynasties of, 300, 301, 
302; the Shepherd-kings of 
(Hyksos), 299; after Old Testa- 
ment times, 413. 

Egyptian customs recognized 
in the Pentateuch, 492. 

Egyptian party in Jerusalem, 


530. 
Elders, the Seventy (or Seventy- 
two), 623. 
Election, how taught in angi 
ture, 361. 
Eliot, George, quoted, 766. 
Elliott, ‘Hore Apocalyptice,’ 


763. 

Ellicott, Bishop, on Inspiration, 
123. 

Elzevirs, the, printers, originate 
the phrase Textus Receptus, 59. 
Emperors, Roman, during the 
New Testament history, 678. 
Empires, the four, in Daniel's 

prophecies, 535- 

English Versions of Scripture, 
early, 153. 

‘Enoch,’ Book of, 750. 

‘Ephesians,’ Epistle to, to whom 
addressed, 7Io. 

Ephesus, city of, Paul’s two 
visits to, 7II. 

Epistles, the, scope and purpose 
of, 193, 195; 679; rules for 
studying, ib.; errors against 
which they were directed, 68r. 

Epistles of Paul, early testi- 
mony to the, 39. 

Eras, chronological, 328. 

Esdraelon,valleyof(Jezreel),283. 

Essentials of Revelation, 738. 

Esther, the Book of, 545; dates 
of its recorded events, 546. 

‘Eternal’ in the Epistle to the 
Hebrews, Dr. Denney on, 736. 


3G2 


820 


Ethical Progress in Revelation, 
134; Systems, compared with 
Scripture, 104. 

Ethiopie Version of the Old 
‘Testament, 34. 

Ethnography confirming the 
statements of the Pentateuch, 


405. 

Etymology, light thrown by, on 
the meaning of words, 202. 

Europe, introduction of the 
Gospel to, 718. 

‘Busebian Canons,’ 47. 

Eusebius, testimony of, to New 
Testament canonical books, 41 ; 
on the genuineness of Mark 
16°29, 641; quoted, 731, 749. 

‘Euthalian’ marks and divi- 
sions, 47. 

Evangelical Prophet, the, 504 ; 
title applicable to Jeremiah, 
520. 

Evidence, hindrances to its re- 
ception, 113 ; of Scripture uni- 
versally accessible, 112; to 
revelation, classified, go. 

Ewald, H., quoted, 499, 535,575, 
739, 751, ke. 

Example, a guide to conduct, 
369; teaching by, 139 ; cautions 
in applying, «b.; examples 
interpreting rules, 371; pur- 
pose of examples, 372. 

Exodus, the, 300. 

Exodus, Book of, its title and 
divisions, 411. 

Experimental evidence, 
Iit. 


II0, 


Ezekiel, place of his ministry, ° 


523; central point of his pre- 
dictions, ib. ; outline (Hiiver- 
nick), 523; ideal of the holy 
kingdom and temple, 525. 

Ezra, the first to frame a Canon, 
22; his life and character, 539 ; 
his Biblical labours, 542 ; tradi- 
tions respecting him, 1b. 


Faber, Dr. F. W., 
English Bible, 152. 
Fairbairn, Principal A. M., on 

Inspiration and Revelation, 126. 


on the 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Faith, the principle of obedience, 
103 ; various uses of the word, 
187, 188. 

Farrar, Dean, on the language 
of 2 Corinthians, 697; quoted, 
484, 592, 736, 742. 

Fasts of the Jews, 433. 

Fathers, the Christian, on In- 
spiration, 118, 

Feast of Dedication, the, 604. 

Festivals, the Hebrew, 4109, 
430; threefold meaning of, 431. 

Figurative Language of Serip- 
ture, 215 ; figures classified, 220. 

‘First chapter in Ecclesiastical 
History,’ the, 694. 

First Prophecy, the, 407. 

Flesh, meaning of, 187. 

Food in the East, 340; illustrat- 
ing Scripture, 341. 


‘ Foretelling’ and ‘ Forth- 
telling,’ 96, 23 

Fourth Gonpall the : see John’s 
Gospel. 


*‘Fragmentary’ hypothesis re- 
garding the Pentateuch, 397. 
French Version of the Bible, 

150. 
‘From Dan to Beer-sheba,’ 280, 
Funeral customs, 356. 
Furniture, household, in the 
East, 337. 
Futurist interpretation of -, 
Apocalypse, 764. 


Galatia, the district so ane 
698; characteristics of the 
people, 7or. 

Galatians, Epistle to, and Acts 
compared, 674. 

Galilwans, the, 624. 

Gaussen, ‘ Theopneustia,’ 119 n. 

Gedaliah, governor of the rem- 
nant in Jerusalem, 530. 

Gemara, the, 6109. 

Genealogies, Scripture, 463. 

Genesis, its title and divisions, 
406; references to in New 
Testament, 410. 

Geneva Bible, the, 156. 

Gennesaret, Lake of, 288. 

Genuineness and authority of 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


the New Testament established, 
88. 

Geography, Scripture, impor- 
tance of studying instructive, 
276; facts of, 296. 

Georgian Version of the Bible, 
34. 

Gerizim, Mt., Samaritan temple 
on, 17, 29. 

German Versions of the Bible, 
148. 

Geruth-Chimham, 530 n. 

Gesenius, Lexicon of, quoted, 
429, 575, 579, &e. 

Gilead, 291. 

Ginsburg, Dr., editor of the 
Massora, 620; on the date of 
Ecclesiastes, 539. 

Glossaries of New Testament 
words, 207. 

Gnosticism, incipient, 682 ; early 
Gnostics quote John’s Gospel, 
657- 

Gobryas, general of Cyrus, 316. 

Goliath, 452. 

Gospel, meaning of the word, 
627; only one gospel, ib. ; its 
method of healing, rr2. 

Gospels, the Four, 628; early 
testimony to the, 38. 

Gothic Version of the Bible, 34; 
of the Four Gospels, 55. 

Grace, meanings of, 188. 

Grzco-Egyptian kings, 599. 

Grezco-Syrian kings, 6or. 

Grammatical interpretation, 
180. 

* Great Bible,’ the, 155. 

Greek classic writers, aid from 
in interpretation, 205; the 
‘common dialect,’ 43; New 
Testament Greek, 42. 

Gregory Nazianzen, the New 
Testament Canon in metrical 
form, 41. 

Griesbach, J. J., Critical Edition 
of New Testament, 61. 

Guest-chambers at the Pass- 
over, 356. 


Habakkuk, prediction of, re- 
garding the Chaldzan invasion, 





821 


514; his sublime Ode, 515, 
576. 

Habitations, Eastern, 336. 

Haggai and Zechariah, 
special mission, 547. 

Hagiographa, the, of Old Testa- 
ment, 17, 460. 

Half-shekel, the Temple tribute, 


their 


343- 

Ham, the lands occupied by his 
posterity, 277. 

Hamath, the entrance of, 281. 

Harmonies of revelation as evi- 
dence, 108. 

Harmony of the Gospels, con- 
struction of a, 629. 

Harnack, Prof., on the date of 
the Apocalypse, 759. 


Hasmonzans, the, 603, 608 
(Table), 
Heathen nations, prophecies 


respecting, 479; religions, illus- 
trations of Scripture, 319; 
princes, the ministers of God's 
will, 542; powers, in alliance 
with Israel, 469. 

Hebraisms, 18r. 

Hebrew language, the, 13; suc- 
cessive stages of, 15 ; a conso- 
nantal language, 26. 

Hebrew rites and heathen reli- 
gions, 416. 

Hebrews, Epistle to the, and 
Leviticus, 416. 

Hebron, 286. 

Hellenistic Greek, 42. 

Helvetic Confession, the, on 
Inspiration, 119. 

Hengstenberg, quoted, 535,575, 
&e. 

Hermon, Mount, 277; its names, 
1b. Ne 

Herod ‘the Great,’ 607, 609; 
dominions of, 293; death of, 
610. 

Herodian family, genealogical 
table of the, 6rr. 

Herodians, the, 625. 

Herodotus, 538.- 

*‘ Hexapla,’ the, of Origen, 31. 

*‘ Hexateuch,’ the, 387, 437. 

‘ Hezekiah, the men of,’ 584. 


822 


gine criticism,’ the, defined, 


Highlands of Palestine, the, 
283, 286. 

Hilkiah, his discovery of the 
Book of the Law, 23, 392. 

Himyaritic or ‘Ethiopic’ 
guage, 15. 

Hinnon, valley of, 285. 

Historical Old Testament writ- 
ings, 434, 435; interpretation 
of the Apocalypse, 763; facts 
illustrative of Scripture, 318. 

History, Bible, characteristics 
of, 435; divisions of, 436; Old 
Testament, later additions to 
(Old Testament), 545; its in- 
spiration, 436; and prophecy, 
236; between the Testaments, 
597- 

Hittite empire, the, 305, 406. 

Hobart, Dr., on ‘the medical 
language of St. Luke,’ 669. 

Holiness, the key-word of Levi- 
ticus, 415. 

Holtzmann, H., on the ‘ primi- 
tive Mark,’ 613. 

Homeceoteleuton, 7o. 

Hooker, Richard, onthe Psalms, 
567. 

Hosea, his family history, 489 ; 
and the Law, 490. 

Human and Divine elements 
in Scripture, rer. 

Hyksos (shepherd-kings) in 
Egypt, 409. 

Hymn, Passover, of Christ and 
His disciples, 580. 

Hyrcanus I, Maccabean high- 
priest, 606. 


lan- 


Ideal interpretation ofthe Apoca- 
lypse, 764. 

Importance of truths, relative, 
362; rules for ascertaining, 
363; principles and cautions, 
364. 

Inns and Lodgings, 356. 

Inspiration,Old Testamentstate- 
ments respecting, 117. 

‘Inspiration of selection,’ 36. 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Interpretation of Scripture, 
rules of, 180-199. 

Interpreter, qualifications of a 
Scripture, 178. 

‘Intrinsic’ and ‘ Transcrip- 
tional’ probabilities in regard 
to New Testament text, 79. 

Irenzus, on John’s Gospel, 656 ; 
quoted, 628, 637, 640, 644, 656, 
668, 758. 

Irony, Scriptural, 191. 

Isaac and Esau, 409. 

Isaiah, scope of his prophecies, 
194; his personal history, 493 ; 
duration of his ministry, 494 ; 
contemporary events, 495; 
‘Ten Burdens’ in his book, 
496; his ‘Apocalypse,’ 497 ; 
Assyrian invasions of Judah, 
498 ; the Babylonian Captivity 
predicted, ib. ; Second part of, 
b.; the alleged work of a later 
prophet, 499; the question 
discussed, 499-503. 

Ishmael murders Gedaliah, 530. 

‘Isles of the Sea,’ the, 278. 

Israel, the northern kingdom, 
successive capitals of, 292; and 
Judah, in conflict, 473. 

Itala Version (Latin), 32. 

Italian Versions of the Bible, 
151. 

Italics, use of, in English Ver- 


sions, I70. 


Jacob, family records of, 409. 

James, ‘brother of the Lord,’ 
General Epistle of, 738; per- 
sonality of the writer, ib. ; doc- 
trine compared with Paul’s, 740. 

Jamnia, the Council of, on the 
Canon, I9. 

Janneus, Alexander, 606. 

Japheth, lands oecupied by his 
posterity, 277. 

Jeconiah, his 
531 

Jeffreys, Mrs,, on the language 
of 2 Isaiah, 502. 

Jehoiakim, his fate, 475, 529. 

Jehoshaphat, king, 472; un- 


‘ childlessness,’ 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


toward alliance with Ahab, 
474- 

Jeremiah, his personal history, 
515; arrangement of his dis- 
courses, 517-519; his letter to 
the Babylonian exiles, 519; his 
prophetic contemporaries, 517; 
and Zechariah, 550; an evange- 
lical prophet, 550. 

Jeroboam, his character and 
reign, 468. 

Jerome, his translation of the 
Old Testament, 32; of the New 
Testament, 54; quoted, 641, 
644, Ke. 

Jerusalem, 284 ; fortress of, 450 ; 
captured and destroyed, 475; 
walls of, rebuilt, 543; the 
heavenly, 767. 

Jewish Dispensation and the 
Church, 241, 255. 

Jewish institutions, 218; figura- 
tive, 545; their predicted final 
restoration, 243. 

Jewsin Babylonia and Persia, 


545: 

Job, Book of, its date, 563; its 
object and lessons, 565. 

Joel, imagery of, 492. 

Johnthe Apostle, in the Gospels, 
654; his relationship to Jesus, 
655; in the Apostolic history, 
656 ; Gospel of, its genuineness 
argued, 657; early witnesses to, 
656; its chief modern advocates, 
663; details peculiar to, 662; 
disputed passages in, 660; and 
the Synopties, 659 ; relation of 
to the Apocalypse, 660. 

Jonah, Book of, arguments for 
the historicity of, 483; its 
allegorical use and chief lessons, 
484. 

Jonathan Maccabzus, 605. 

Jones, Jeremiah, on the New 
Testament Canon, 41 7. 

Jordan Valley, the, 288. 

Joseph in Egypt, 409 ; only once 
mentioned in New Testament, 
ib. 

Josephus, language of, 206; on 
the Old Testament Canon, 19; 


823 


quoted, 593, 598, 605, 607, 609, 
677, &e. 

Joshua, his name and history, 
438; division of Canaan by, 2ot. 

Joshua, or Jeshua, high-priest, 
548. : 

Journeys of the children of 
Israel, 413, 414, 418. 

Jowett, Prof. B., on ‘the Man 
of Sin,’ 691. 

Jubilee, the Year of, 433. 

Judza, reverses of, 292. 

Judah, kingdom of, 471. 

Judas Maccabzus, 605, 606. 

Judas of Galilee, 624. 

Judas, or Jude, personality of, 
748; anecdote of his grandsons, 


749. 
Judges, chronology of the, 325, 


443. 
Justin Martyr, quoted, 639, 646. 


Kabbala, the, 621. 

Kadesh, 417. 

Keith, Dr., on the fulfilment of 
prophecies against Philistia, 
513; interpretation of the Apo- 
calypse, 763. 

Kethibh and Qéri, 27. 

Khammurabi (Amraphel) of 
Babylon (Shinar), 299, 406; 
Laws of, 388 ; invasion by, 409. 

Kimchi, D., on the Massorites, 
619. 

Kingdom, Israelite, disruption 
of, 467. 

‘Kingdom of Heaven,’ the, in 
Matthew. 

Kingdom, the coming, prepara- 
tion for, 441. 

Kings, the Books of, compared 
with Chronicles, 458, 461. 

Kings of Israel, their depravity, 
468 ; their fate, 469. 

Kirjath-jearim, 451. 

Kirkpatrick, Prof. A. F., on 
Old Testament Literature, 508, 
573; 575: 

Kuenen, A.,, 388. 


Lachmann, Carl, Critical Edi- 
tion of New Testament, 6r. 


824 


‘Lady,’ the elect, 755. 

Lamentations of Jeremiah, 520. 

Laodicea, epistle to, 715. 

Lardner, N., quoted, 683, 686 
732, 759 

Lasserre, Henri, translation of 
the Gospels by, 151. 

Latin modern translations of 
the Bible, 147. 

Latin versions of Old Testament, 
ancient, 32. 

Law, a general name for Old 
Testament recognized in the 
Books of Samuel, 17; and Gospel 
essentially one, 137; Book of 
the, discovered by Hilkiah in the 
Temple, 23; publicly read by 
Ezra, 544; in the Prophets, 
390; its religious institutions, 
421. 

‘Lawyers,’ the, in New Testa- 
ment, 622. 

Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, 277. 

Lecky, E. H., on conjectural 
criticism, 400. 

Lectionaries, New Testament, 


52. 

Legends, supposed, in the Penta- 
teuch, 397. 

Leontopolis, Jewish temple at, 
605. 

Levites, the, 425 ; their courses 
and maintenance, 426; their 
costume, 7b. 

Levitical Law, prophetic —typi- 
cal, 242. 

Lewin, T., attempted reproduc- 
tion of letter from Corinthians 
to Paul, 693 n. 

Lewis, Mrs., on Syriac New 
Testament MS., 641. 

Liddon, Canon, on literary fic- 
tions, gor; on ‘Inspiration of 
Selection,’ 500, 673. 

Lightfoot, Bishop J. B., quoted, 
618, 663, 701, 710, 714, 759; 760. 

Lion, habits of the, illustrating 
Scripture, 335. 

Literature, references to more 
ancient, in Sceripture, 18; 
Jewish, in Babylon, 532. 

Locke, J., on Bible reading, 601. 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Logia, a source of the 
632; fragments of, as disco 
by Messrs. Grenfell and — 


Liste Abbé, on the Fourth 
Gospel, 657. 

Lowth, Bishop, on Hebrew 
Poetry, 558. 

Luke, his personal history, 640 ; 
connexion with Paul, 651; 
prologue to his Gospel, 634 ; 
authorship of the Acts, 668 ; 
thought by: some to havewritten 
‘ Hebrews,’ 733. 

Luther, 576, 733; his fe 
Bible, 149. 


Maccabean line, genealogical 
table of the, 608. 

Maccabean Psalms, supposed, 
577: 

Maccabezan uprising, 603. 

Maccabees, Books of, 618. 

Maclaren, Dr. A., on Dayid and 
the Psalms, 573. 

‘ Malachi,’ Book of, 553. 

Manasseh of Judah and Esar- 
haddon, 313. 

* Man of Sin,’ the, 690. 

Manuscripts of New Testament 
books, 44; indications of date 
in, 47; enumeration of, 50, 51. 

Marcion and Luke, 650; and 
John’s Gospel, 658. 

Margin of Old and New Testa- 
ments in A.V. and R.V., 80, 172. 

Marginal readings, a cause of 
mistake, 71. 

Mariamne, wife of Herod, 607 ; 
executed, 610. 

Mark, Gospel of, its author, 636 ; 
connexion with the Apostle 
Peter, 637 ; with Barnabas and 
Paul, 638; the earliest Gospel, 
632; the last twelve verses, ques- 
tion of the genuineness, 640. 

Mashal, meaning of the Hebrew, 
584. 

Massora, the, 619. 

Massoretes and their work, 27, 
28, 77. 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Mattaniah, his name changed 
to Zedekiah, 529. 

Mattathias, his dying charges, 

~ 604. 

Matthei, Critical Edition of New 
Testament, 61. 

Matthew, his personality, origin 
of his Gospel, 644. 

Mayor, Dr. J. B., on James the 
Lord’s brother, 739. 

Meal-offerings, 430. 

Meaning of Scripture unveiled 
by the Holy Spirit, 179. 

Measures, of capacity, 346; of 
length, 344. 

Mede, Joseph, interpreter of 
the Apocalypse, 763. 

Megiddo, battle of (Josiah slain), 
302. 

‘ Megilloth,’ the, 20. 

Melchizedek, the typical priest- 
king, 409. 

Meneptah II, the Pharaoh of 
the Exodus, 300, 411. 

Merom, the waters of, 288. 

Mesopotamia, 278. 

Messianic hope, the, 98, 237; 
Kingdom as foretold, 240; pro- 
mises, 456; psalms, 571, 582. 

Methods of insult, 355. 

Micah, his personal history, 507 ; 
his Messianic predictions, 508. 

Mill, Dr. John, Critical Edition 
of New Testament, 60. 

‘Millennium,’ the, 766. 

Milligan, Prof., on the Apoca- 
lypse, 759. 

Milton, quoted, 572, 760. 

Ministry, the Christian, as de- 
seribed in 1 Timothy, 723. 

Miracles as Evidence, twofold, 
92; rejection of, implies a 
greater, 94; meaning of, 95. 

Miracles recorded in the several 
Gospels, 665. 

Mishna, the, 619; Prof. W. H. 
Bennett on, 623. 

Mistakes, alleged, in the Acts, 
673. 

Mitzraim and Mitzrim, 397. 

Moab,relations of Israel with,302. 

Moabite Stone, the, 291, 303. 


825 


Moffatt, James, ‘The Historical 
New Testament,’ 743. 

Moller, W., on Pentateuchal 
criticisms, 397. 

Monarchy in Israel, beginning 
of, 447- 

Money, reckoning of, 347. 

*‘ Monotheism’ and ‘ Monolatry,’ 


407. 

Moral difficulties in specula- 
tive criticism, 400. 

Morality of the Bible, as Evi- 
dence, Ioo. 

Moriah, Mount, 285. 

Moses and the Pentateuch, 389. 

Motive regulated by Scripture, 
Tol. 

Mount Ephraim, 283. 

Mourning, methods of, 356. 

*‘Muratorian Fragment,’ the, 
41. 

Mystery, 11, 189. 

Mythical explanations of Mir- 
acles (Strauss), 93 n. 


Name of God revealed, 412. 

Weander, classification of the 
Parables by, 229. 

Webuchadnezzar (or -rezzar), 
son of Nabopolassar, 314; his 
prowess and public works, 315, 


515- 

Nehemiah, his history and 
character, 543; said to have 
formed a sacred Library, 23; 
reforms instituted by, 544; 
example, of, 545. 

Nestle, Prof. E., Edition of the 
Greek Testament with selected 
various readings, 65; on the 
abundance of New Testament 
MSS., 48. 

‘Neutral’ type of New Testa- 
ment text, 79. 

New Testament, Critical Edi- 
tions of the, 60: see Walton, 
Mill, Bengel, Griesbach, Scholz, 
Lachmann, Matthei, Tre- 
gelles, Tischendorf, Alford, 
Westcott, Weiss; MSS., families 
of, 78; comparative study of 
the, 683 ; threefold division of, 


826 


46; relation of, to the purposes 
of the Old, 383; the primary 
source of doctrine, 360. 

New Year’s Day, the Hebrew, 
431. 

Newman, J. H., his character 
of David, 573. 

Nineveh, in the times of Nahum, 
510; fall of, 314. 


Obadiah, points of resemblance 
to other prophets, 526; doom 
of Edom, 527. 

Obedience, the true basis of, 


374- 

Objections to miracle exploded, 
92; to Scripture, general an- 
swers to, 272-275. 

Obscure passages, 260; espe- 
cially in poetry, 261. 

Offerings sent from Babylonia 
by the exiles to the Temple, 


532. 

Old Testament Books, three 
stages in their formation, 19; 
Canon, recognized in the New, 
20, 21 ; classification of its books, 
386; MSS., the earliest extant, 
24; quotations of, in the New, 
249 [see Part II under the dif- 
ferent Old Testament Books] ; 
the, attested by the New, 87; 
its true place, 385 ; on salvation, 
382 ; uses of the, ib. ; when first 
printed, 24. 

Onesimus, 717. 

Oppression, the great, of Israel 
in Egypt, 300. 

Oral tradition as a source of the 
Gospels, 632. 

Orelli, Prof., on Pentateuchal 
reconstruction, 399. 

Origen, on the author of “He- 
brews,’ 731 ; the ‘Hexapla,’ 31. 

Origin of arts and crafts, 407. 

Original Scriptures, advantage 
of studying the, 2or1. 

Ornan or Araunah, 452. 

‘Our daily bread,’ meaning of, 
in the Lord’s Prayer, 203. 

Ovid, reference to Synagogues by, 
jo2, 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Palestine, its various names, 
279; its boundaries, 280; its 
main divisions, 282; climate 
of, 294; rains in, ibe; winds 
of, 295; wells in, ib.; between 
great empires, 301 ; as a Roman 
province, 292. : 

‘Palestinian’ Syriac of New 
Testament, 54. 

Paley, quoted, 671, 674; ‘Hore 
Pauline,’ its argument, 109. 

Palimpsests, 46. 

Palmer, Archdeacon, ‘The Re- 
visers’ Greek Text,’ 65. 

Papias, testimony to Mark and 
Matthew, 637, 645. 

Papyrus, fragments of early 
MSS., 45. 

Parable, defined, 221 ; interpre- 
tation of, 228, 230-233. 

Parables, our Lord’s classified, 
229 ; in the several Gospels, 664. 

Parallelism, Hebrew, 558; a 
guide to meaning, I9g0; in 
word and sense, 197. 

Parentheses, tor. 

Particles, force of, 192. 

Passover, institution of the, 412, 
431. 

Pastoral Epistles, the, 721. 

Paul the Apostle, his Divine 
commission, 87 ; conversion of, 
different accounts of the, 673 ; 
journey after his first Roman 
imprisonment, 725 ; Epistles of, 
classified, 685. 

Peace-offerings, 430. 

Pentateuch, the, authenticity 

of, 492; not possible to regard 

it as a forgery, 493 ; its names, 

387; confirmations of, from 

history and archeology, 404 ; 

critical theories respecting, 395, 

397; its proposed reconstruc- 

tion examined, 398; docu- 

ments imbedded in, 18; edi- 
torial revision of, 395 ; threefold 
element in, %.; its essential 
unity, 394; its Mosaic origin, 

388, 389 ; assumed in the New 

Testament, 390; shown by its 

contents, 392. 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 827 


Pentecost, the Feast of, 432. 
‘Perfection,’ meaning of, 189. 
Perowne, Bishop J.S., 375. 391- 
Persian rule over Judza, 597; 
kings, succession of, ib. 
Personal pronoun, use of, in 
New Testament, 209. 
Peshitta or Syriac version, Old 
Testament, 33; New Testament, 


52. 

Peter, Simon, his personality, 
741; connexion with our Lord, 
ib. ; later life and martyrdom, 
ib.; not the founder of the 
Church in Rome, 703; First 
Epistle of, where written, 742 ; 
Second Epistle of, 746; question 
of its authenticity, its destina- 
tion, and purpose, 745; the 
writer’s last words, 748. 

Petrie, Prof. Flinders, Egyp- 
tian researches, 299, &c. 

Pharaoh-Hophra, 474, 475. 

Pharaoh-Neco, 474. 

Philemon, family of, 717. 

Philippi, 718; character of the 
Church in, 7109. 

Philistines, wars of David with 
the, 451. 

Philo, language of, 206. 

Philosophies, ancient, illustra- 
tive of Scripture, 319. 

Philoxenian version’ (Syriac) 
of the New Testament, 53. 

Phoenicia, 278; relations of 
Israel with, 303. 

Pinches, Dr. T. G., ‘The Old 
Testament and Historical Re- 
cords,’ 265. 

‘Pious frauds,’ 401. 

Pithom (Heroopolis), 411. 

Plagues of Egypt, the ten, 112. 

‘Plain,’ different words so trans- 
lated (A. V.), 290. 

Plumptre, Prof., on the Scribes, 
621 ; on the date of the Epistle 
of James, 739. 

Poetry, early religious, 18; 
characteristics of Hebrew, 558. 

Pompey the Great, his capture 
of Jerusalem, 607. 

Poole, R. Stuart, on references 


to Egypt in Genesis and Exodus, 
493. 

Portuguese version 
Bible, 152. 

Practical doctrines under the 
old covenant, 133. 

Practical purposes in doctrine, 
361. 

Preterist view of the Apoca- 
lypse, 762. 

Precedents, Scripture, how far 
applicable, 374. 

Precepts, how to be interpreted, 
366 ; moral and positive, 367; 
illustrated in the law of the 
Sabbath, ib.; differences be- 
tween the two, 368; applica- 
tion of both, 369. 

Prediction, its relation to pro- 
phecy, 235, 237- 

Presents to a superior, 355. 

Priesthood, the, 425. 

Priest-kings, Maccabzan, 606. 

Principles rather than rules the 
method of Scripture, 366. 

Priscilla, suggested as a possible 
writer of ‘ Hebrews,’ 733. 

Prison-Epistles of Paul, the, 
710. 

Private letters of Apostles, 
157: 

Procurators of Judza, 610, 678. 

Progressiveness of revelation, 
132, 7609. 

Promise, Divine, characteristics 
of, 375 ; how to apply, ib. 

Promises, collections of, their 
value, 378; differ from invita- 
tions, 377; motives to exertion 
and prayer, 378; absolute or 
conditional, 376; universal or 
peculiar, permanent or tem- 
porary, 375- 

Proper names, peculiar usages 
of, 184. 

Prophecy, 96, 233, 481 ; prophetic 
succession, the, 234; in Israel 
and Judah, 479; in New Testa- 
ment, 765; its progressive de- 
velopment, 480; foreshadows 
a spiritual kingdom, ib. ; inter- 
pretation of the Law, 481. 


of the 


828 ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Prophetic spirit, revival of, in 
Samuel, 454. 

Prophets, the, in two main 
periods, 482, 511 ; tabular view 
of their chronological order, 
478 ; of their contents, 556, 557- 

Proselytes, 625. 

Proverbs, Book of, 584 ; religion 
of the, 585; illustrated by 
Scripture examples, 587. 

Psalms, authorship of, 570; 
classified, 578 ; chronologically 
arranged, 579; referring to 
David's history, 458; to later 
periods of the kingdom, 476; 
post-exilic, 576 ; alleged Macca- 
bean, 577; in the Septuagint, 
574; titles of the, 174, 572. 

‘Psalms of Solomon,’ so called, 
618. 

Ptolemies, list of, 599. 

Ptolemy Philadelphus and the 
LXX, 600, 612. 

Ptolemy Philopator, attempt 
against the Jews, 600. 

Purim, festival of, 431, 547- 

Pusey, Dr. E. B., on Daniel, 
537- 


Qargar, battle of, 307. 

Qéri and Kethibh, 27. 

Qoheleth, 580. 

Quirinius, Publius Sulpitius, 
610. 

Quotations, loose, 56, 72. 

Quotations (New Testament), 
in early Christian writers, 55 ; 
collected and indexed by Dean 
Burgon, 57. 

Quotations (Old Testament), 
in the New, classified, 250; 
mostly from the LXX, %b.; 
often from the Hebrew original, 
252; variations in, 252-255; 
books omitted, 20; bearing of 
quotations upon doctrine, 255. 
[Principal Quotations at the 
close of the Introductions to 
Old Testament books. } 


Railway to Jerusalem, locality 
of the, 451”. 


Rainy, Principal, on the pro- 
cess of Revelations, 146. 

Ramsay, Prof. W. M., on the 
Apostolic history, 671; on 
‘ Galatia,’ 698 ; quoted, 638, 650, 
Joo, 713. &e. 

Ramses ITI (Sesostris), 411 ; the 
Pharaoh of the Oppression, 


300. 

Rationalistic explanations of 
Miracles (Paulus), 92 n. 

Received Text (New Testa- 
ment), origin of the phrase, 


59. 
Red Sea, passage of the, 413. 
Reformers, the, on Inspiration, 


IIg. 

Religion the theme of Revela- 
tion. 128. 

Religion of Israel, early, 389 ; 
after Old Testament times, 6rr. 

Renan, E., quoted, 615, 645, 
653- 

Return of the Jews from Baby- 
lon, 540; a fulfilment of pro- 
phecy, 54r. 

Revealed and Natural Religion, 
their difference and harmony, 
124. 

Revelation, meaning of, 125; 
method of, in the Law, 421; 
its various aspects, 423; written, 
126, ° 

Revelation, Book of: see Apo- 
calypse. 

Revised English Bible, the 
158; changes from the Author- 
ized Edition, 159-166. 

Reynolds, Dr. H. R., Summary 
of John’s Gospel, 661 ; quoted, 
618, 661, 663, 72T. 

Rheims New Testament, the, 
156. 

‘River,’ various words so trans- 
lated in Old Testament, 282. 

River of Egypt, the, 28r. 

Robertson, Dr. J., on the 
alleged lateness of the Psalms, 


573- 

Robinson, Dean J. Armitage, 
on the Gospels, quoted, 417, 
629, 647, 712, ke. 


=. - 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Rome, intervention of, in Judza, 
607 ; the Gospel in, 703; con- 
stitution of the Roman Church, 
qo4; Church of, and Peter, 
742. 

Rushbrooke’s 
631. 

Ruth, ancestress of the Messiah, 
445; lessons of her history, 


446. 


‘Synopticon,’ 


Sabbath, the, 430. 
Sabbatic Year, the, 433. 
Sabaco or So, King of Egypi, 


469. 

Sacrifice, Institution of, 407. 
Sacrifices, the Levitical, 425; 
their various kinds, 427-430. 
Salmon, Prof. G., ‘Introduc- 
tion to the New Testament,’ 

quoted, 658, 738, 759, &e. 

Salome, mother of the sons of 
Zebedee, 655. 

Salt Sea, the; its names in 
Scripture, 289. 

Salutations, 355. 

Salvation, as taught in the Old 
Testament, 382 ; different mean- 
ings, 187. 

Samaritan Bible, 17; 
teuch, 29 ; worship, 598. 

Samaritans, origin of the, 470; 
and the Mosaic Covenant, 626. 

Samuel the Prophet;-his life 
and calling, 448. 

Sanctuary, the Jewish, 423. 

Sanday, Prof. W., quoted, 573, 
657, 663. 

Sanhedrin, the, 613. 

Saul, designated- as king, 448; 
his relations with David, 449 ; 
close of his reign, 450. 

Scholz, J. M. A., Critical Edi- 
tion of New Testament, 61. 

Schrader, E., ‘ Inscriptions,’ tr. 
Whitehouse, 307, &e. 

Schirer, Prof. E., ‘Jewish His- 
tory in New Testament Times,’ 
618. 

Science and the Bible, 130. 

‘Scillitan Martyrs,’ the, 54. 


Penta- 


829 


Scope, the, of a passage useful 
in fixing sense, 192. 

Scribes, the, 62r. 

‘Scriptures,’ meaning and usage 
of the word, 6, 

Scrivener, Dr., Greek Testament 
with various readings, 64. 

Sealing, as a symbol, 357. 

Seasons, as a note of time in 
Seripture, 354. 

‘Second Canon’ (Old Testa- 
ment), the, 23. 

Selah, 576. 

Seleucus Philopator and the 
Jews, 6o1. 

Semi-Hebraisms, 183. 

Sennacherib, 311; expedition 
of, against Jerusalem, 312; 
destruction of his army, 
313. 

Septuagint, the, 30, 612 ; printed 
editions.of, 31 ; the Bible of the 
Apostles, 20. 

‘Servant of Jehovah,’ in the 
second part of Isaiah, 504. 

Seven Churches of Asia, the, 


760. 

Shalmaneser IV and Sargon, 
kings of Assyria (capture of 
Samaria), 309. 

Sheba and Seba, 278. 

Sheep, the Syrian, 335. 

Shem, the lands occupied by his 
posterity, 277. 

Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel, 


541. 

Shtlammith, 593. 

Simon the Cananzan (Zelotes), 
621. 

Simon the Just, 600. 

Sin, Scripture view respecting, 
102. 

‘Sinaitic,’? Syriac MS. of the 
Gospels, 53. 

Sin-offerings, 428. 

Skeat, Prof., on the word ‘ Gos- 
pel,’ 627. 

Slavonic version of the Bible, 


34. 

Smerdis the usurper, 547. 

Smith, J., of Jordanhill, on ‘The 
Voyage and Shipwreck of St. 


830 


Paul,’ 671; character of his 
reign, 465 ; his wisdom, ib. 

Smith, Prof. G. A., 286. 

Smith, Dean Payne, 502. 

Smith, Prof. W. Robertson, 
387. 

Solomon, his accession, 459; 
extent of his dominions, 460; 
character of his reign, 465 ; his 
wisdom, ib. 

Son of Man, a title of Christ, 
659. 

Song of Songs, the, 592; various 
interpretations of, 595. 

Songs of Degrees, 193. 

Spanish versions of the Bible, 
152. 

Spiritual, the, 
natural, 215. 

Stanley, Dean A. P., 503, 507, 
&e. 

Stephens, R., divides the New 
Testament into verses, 174; 
his printed edition of the Greek 
Testament, 59. 

‘Substance,’ meaning of, 188. 

Summaries of Chapters in 
A Ve, 1733 

Supper, the Last, and the Pass- 
over Feast, 263. 

Swete, Prof. H. B., 31, 637. 

Symbols of spiritual truths, 221 ; 
symbolic language, loss of, 
222. 

Symmachus, his Greek version 
of Old Testament, 31. 

Synagogue, the Great, tradi- 
tions respecting, 542, 6or. 

Synagogues, established, 424, 
611, 622. 

Synchronisms between Hebrew 
and secular history, 405, 409. 
Synoptic Problem, the (in 

Gospels), 629. 

Syria and Hamath, 304; in New 
Testament times, 305. 

Syriac versions of the OldTesta- 
ment, 33; of the New Testa- 
ment, 52. 

‘Syrian’ type of New Testament 
text, 78. 

System, absence of formal, in 


through the 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


the method of Revelation, 138 ; 
yet present in reality, 358. 


Tabeel, the son of, Pretender, 
471. 

Tabernacle, the, 414, 423. 

Tabernacles, Feast of, cele- 
brated by Ezra and Nehemiah, 
5443 special observances, 356, 
432. 

Tacitus, historian, 677. 

Tahpanhes,or Daphne, aJewish 
settlement, 530. 

Talmuds, the, 619. 

Targums, the, 28. 

Tarshish, 279. 

Tatian, his ‘ Diatessaron,’ 53. 

Taxation in Palestine, 342. 

Tel el-Amarna Tablets, the, 
306, 388. 

Temple, rebuilt by Zerubbabel, 
restored and dedicated by the 
Maccabeeans, 604; rebuilt by 
Herod, 609. 

Temple of Solomon, the, 424, 
465. 

Temporal blessings, promise 
of, how to be understood, 376. 
Ten Commandments, the, 413. 
*Tendency-writing,’ Tiibingen 

theory respecting, 672. 

Tennyson and Ecclesiastes, 591. 

Tenses, Greek, force of, 209. 

Ten Tribes, dispersion of the, 
470. 

‘Testament,’ meaning of the 
word, 5. 

Testimonies, early, 
Epistles (Tables), 684. 

Text, existing, of the New Testa- 
ment substantially correct, 76; 
as determined by MSS., 78; 
printed editions of, 59. 

Textual Criticism defined, 66; 
science of, 77; its sources, ib. 

Thank-offerings, 430. 

Theocracy, the, 423, 459. 

Theodotion, his Greek Version 
of Old Testament, 3r. 

Theology, the whole meaning of 
Scripture, 201; schools of, in 
Babylonia, 531. 


to the 


ALPHABETICAL INDEX 


Theophilus of Antioch, on 
John’s Gospel, 686. 

Thessalonica, 686; 
visit to, 687. 

Theudas, the revolt under, 674. 

Thirtle, J. W., on the Titles of 
the Psalms, 576 7. 

‘Thomas Matthews,’ or John 
Rogers, Bible translator, 155. 
‘Three Heavenly Witnesses,’ 

the text discussed, 82. 

Tiglath-Pileser (or Pul), King 
of Assyria, 469. 

Time, reckoning of, 349; lessons 
from, 350. 

Timothy, his training and cha- 
racter, 722; connexion with 
Paul, ib. 

Tindale’s Version, New Testa- 
ment and Pentateuch, 155 

Tirshatha, Nehemiah the, 545. 

Tischendorf, Constantine von, 
Critical Edition of New Testa- 
ment, 62. 

Titles of the Psalms, 572; musi- 
eal, 575; new theory respecting, 
576 n. 

Titus, his connexion with Paul, 
724; his mission to Corinth, 
606. 

Traditions, Apostolic, added to 
the New Testament text, 84. 
Tregelles, Dr. S. P., Critical 
Edition of New Testament, 

62. 

Trespass-offerings, 428. 

Truths common to both Testa- 
ments, 156. 

Tychicus, mission of, to Asia, 
qi. 

Types defined, 221; illustrated, 
ib. ; interpretation of, 227. 

Tyre and Sidon, district of, 303. 


apostolic 


Uncial MSS., 46 ; list of, 48. 

Unity of doctrine throughout 
Scripture, 136; of purpose in 
revelation, 135. 

Unreal and imaginary difficul- 
ties, 260. 

Unsystematic form of revela- 
tion, advantage of, 142. 


831 


Ur of the Chaldees, 408. 
*Ur-Marcus,’ 633. 
Uzziah, King, 472. 


‘Valley of Jehoshaphat,’ the, 
473- 

Variations, textual, illustrated, 
67. 

Variety of authorship in Scrip- 
ture, 177. 

Vashti, 546. 

Vellum, use of, for early New 
Testament MSS.. 45. 

Verbal inspiration, difficulties 
in the theory, 120. 

Vischer on authorship of the 
Apocalypse, 759. 

Visions of Ezekiel, 523-525; of 
Daniel, 533-535; of Zechariah, 
551; of the Apocalypse, 760. 

Vulgate, the (Latin), 6. 33; 
authorized editions of, #b. ; 
critical, ib.; New Testament 
MSS. of the, 55. 


Walton, Brian, ‘ Polyglot’ text 
of New Testament, 60. 

Weights and Coins, 346(Tables). 

Weiss, Bernhard, Critical Edi- 
tion of New Testament, 64. 

‘Wells,’ different words denot- 
ing, 287. 

Westcott, Bishop B.F., quoted, 
577, 658, 660, 663, 733; onearly 
witness to the Gospels, 635. 

Westcott, Bishop, and Dr. 
Hort, Critical Edition of New 
Testament, 63. 

‘Western’ type of New Testa- 
ment text, 78. 

Weymouth, Dr., ‘Resultant 
Greek Testament,’ and ‘ Greek 
Testament in Modern Speech, é 
64. 

Whitehouse, Principal Owen 
C., translator of Schrader, as 
above. See also on early 
Chronology, 772. 

Wilderness of Judah, the, 
287. 


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